Winds of a Dark Water, Death of a Crimson Rose
by coffeefur
Summary: The Weiß Kreuz are on another mission, and it involves tampering into the worlds of YYH and FoR!Find out how they cope up with their job and get caught up in the YYH and FoR characters’ own lives at the same time.
1. Prologue

Title : _Winds of a Dark Water, Death of a Crimson Rose_

**Author : **FuJinGrL

**Anime Series : **Yu Yu Hakusho (after the anime series)

                          Recca no Honou (after the anime series—not manga--)

                          Weiß Kreuz (somewhere in the middle of the anime series)

**Rating : **PG-13 (with very, very, _very_ slight lime)

**Genre : **Crossover**; **romance, very slight action

**Disclaimer :  **Yu Yu Hakusho, Recca no Honou, and Weiß Kreuz belong to their respective and honorable owners and not to me, okay? SO PLEASE DON'T SUE MEEEEEEEEEE!!!! I do NOT make any profit with this!! Please bear in mind that this is merely for PURE enjoyment. And as you will notice, some of the characters here are OOC (Out Of Character) because like I said, they're not mine so I don't really know exactly how they're supposed to feel, oki?

**Teaser : **The Weiß Kreuz are on another mission, and it involves tampering into the worlds of YYH and FoR! How can they accomplish their mission when they don't even know what's in it for them? Find out how they cope up with their job and get caught up in the YYH and FoR characters' own lives at the same time.

PROLOGUE Botan 

_There he is, walking towards Yusuke and Keiko's ramen shop, I mused, observing the kawaii way he walked.__ Should I follow him?_

Kurama straightened his shirt a bit, before he pushed the restaurant's door open. I could hear Kuwa-chan greeting him inside from where I was. I smiled to myself, relieved that Kuwa-chan was also inside. That way, I could enter and get to gaze at Kurama-san without arousing any suspicions from Yusuke or Keiko. They'd think I was just hanging out with the gang.

I stood up from crouching behind a bush, fixed my ponytail, and went on inside.

"Botan-chan!" Keiko greeted from behind the counter, as soon as I got inside. I flashed her my biggest smile, and paused to look around the restaurant. Nothing much had changed since I last saw it, but I missed it a lot.

"Botan!" Kuwabara waved at me, signaling for me to join him at his booth. I smiled. I had missed even Kuwa-kun. I ran over to the booth where he was seated, and noticed that Kurama was sitting beside him, flashing me one of his melting smiles.

"It's been a while," Yusuke said from behind me, holding a tray of beverages.

I grinned at him. "Yes, well, that was one of the reasons I told Koenma-sama, that's why he agreed to give me three months off!"

"Honto ni? Finally, the Prince of Pacifiers earned a heart," Yusuke said.

I was a tad bit annoyed. "Hey, it's true that Koenma-sama's very strict in giving breaks, but that doesn't mean he doesn't have a_ heart, you know," I snapped._

"Yeah? Well, explain the fact that he gives too many missions for the Reikai Tantei!" Yusuke argued.

Kurama smiled at him. "I believe that Koenma-sama gives us orders that are only within our capability, Yusuke."

"Within our capability?_ Within our capability?!? You __gotta be kidding!!! What about that order wherein Keiko had to give me her human energy to revive me??? She almost didn't make it!!! If she wasn't able to make it then I'd be waiting for another chance to live within __50 years by now!!!!" Yusuke insisted._

Kuwa-kun stood up. "Yeah! And when Genkai-baasan ordered Kaitou and the others to test us--I'm sure Koenma had something to do with that--if we weren't able to defeat them, Botan's soul along with that spoiled black shrimp's soul would've been trapped _forever!!! Not that I care anything about that little fire cockroach or anything, but what about Botan-chan's __soul ???"_

"You guys could've been stuck in Kaitou's territory for life!!!" Yusuke reasoned dramatically.

"Yusuke's shadow could've been under their control for _all of eternity!!!!!" Kuwabara continued to back Yuu-kun up as both of them went on ticking off the missions they almost weren't able to accomplish._

I rolled my eyes, giving up. Obviously none of them would stop unless I gave in to their point.

"Botan-san," a calm, low, and comforting voice said, amidst Yusuke and Kuwabara's bickering. I turned to the direction it came from. Kurama was smiling at me warmly, his bright green eyes melting my very soul away, faster than Kaitou could have.

"You have to excuse them both, they complain a lot but deep within they really enjoy challenging and risky missions."

I returned his smile. He was so understanding. _And so extremely cute!!! I added inwardly._

He patted the chair beside him. "Please sit down, Botan-san. You must be tired because of your flight from Reikai."

My eyes widened. _Is this really happening? I was suddenly blushing my life off.  I knew I was giving out a big hint that I liked him, but I couldn't help it._

I must've looked like an idiot, standing there, turning crimson red. He began to raise his brow, probably wondering why I was playing statue dance on my own. But his warm smile never faded. For a moment I was afraid he might take back his offer, so I just snapped myself out of my anxiety and sat down beside him. Though we weren't really sitting too close to each other, my skin was getting all tingly at the thought that he was sitting right next to me. Surprisingly, I managed to speak. "Arigato, I _am kind of exhausted from that long journey," I gave him one of my bubbly smiles, trying to be as cheerful as possible--the usual me--so as not to get busted that just being next to him made me want to__ scream in delight._

He smiled back. "You haven't changed, Botan-san."

_You haven't either, you're still as kawaii as before, I wanted to say, but that would just expose how I felt. "Hai! You know me, not even a lot of Reikai work would make me feel blue!"_

He chuckled a bit. "That's one of the nice things I like about you."

My heart began to beat much quicker than before. _He…l-liked about me?? That means he….. I swallowed. __Nah…that's what he'd probably say to any other girl. That's how nice he is._

"So, Botan-san," he began.

I shook my head. "No, no, just '_Botan'," I said._

"Hai, gomen," he grinned. "So _Botan, what do you plan to do within your three months' vacation?"_

"Um…well…" I stammered. The true reason why I had begged Koenma-sama to give me a break was because I had missed Kurama and wanted to see him again. Sure, I had missed Yusuke and the others, but not as much as I had missed Kurama-san. After all, it's not like I see much of him during their missions; he was usually with Hiei. And I, as much as possible, didn't want to get anywhere _near Hiei. He freaks me out a lot. Especially with his Kokuryuuha._

And also, because Kurama was special to me. Even if I _did always get to hang around with him, I'd still miss him if he'd be apart from me for even just a second._

But how do I tell him that all I wanted to do for my vacation was stay with him all the time?

"Um… you see… I-I'm not really quite sure yet," I replied, not looking at him. He didn't respond, and it was then that I realized that Yusuke and Kuwa-chan were no longer brawling. I glanced at them: Yusuke was lying face-flat on the floor, a huge lump on his head. Keiko was waving a stainless tray around, signaling to Yusuke that if he didn't stop barking, he'd get another dose of it. Kuwabara was already sitting down, trying to behave, but he had a teasing look on his face,_ at Kurama and me._

"I thought you liked Koenma-sama," he said grinning.

"I-I do, that's why I was defending him," I said starting to blush again.

"Well then what's up with you and Kurama-kun here?"

Kurama's eyes widened. I flushed a deeper shade of red. I was _not going to let __anyone know how I felt about Kurama._

"N-nothing's up! Really…" I replied uncertainly. Kurama was only speechless.

Kuwa-kun smiled smugly. "Yeah, right. I bet you have a crush on him just like every other girl in school does. How come those girls don't have a crush on _me?"_

"Shut up, Kuwa-chan!" Keiko let him have it. "Stop giving Botan-chan a hard time on her vacation!"

I smiled at Keiko gratefully. Then I glanced at Kurama. He was just smiling at me, like nothing was happening. Like this was an ordinary thing that happened all the time. His smile was comforting, friendly. I felt a wave of disappointment. Not that there was anything _wrong with his smile, but, it was just that… it was a smile that he gave to everybody, anybody. Nothing special. Nothing that meant he might be interested in me, too. I was suddenly feeling upset, depressed. I liked Kurama a lot, but…he would __never like me back. As a lover, not just as a friend.  It'd never happen. Kurama was really cute and there were lots of girls from his school who were looking forward to going out with him. He could just choose from his fan club. He'd never look __my way. I'd just have to go on liking him, hopelessly. Without any affection in return for me._

I sighed and stood up. Kurama looked at me, a worried expression washing over his emerald eyes and a frown creeping up his perfect cherry lips. "Is there something wrong, Botan?"

I smiled at him. "No, Kurama-kun, I just want to start looking for a place to stay for three months, that's all." I lied, walking towards the door before I could regret doing so.

I waved goodbye to Keiko, who was still glaring at Kuwabara. She began to protest when she saw me leaving, but I didn't give her the chance. I stepped out of the shop as soon as I could, unbelievably, with Kurama's worried face still clouding my thoughts. He cared a lot about me, yes, but…it was just like he cared for everybody else.

_Forget it, Botan, I told myself.__ Kurama would never like you any more than just a friend._

I sighed in disappointment, rounding the corner to the next street, making my way to an apartment where I could stay.


	2. In the Radiance of the Dark

**PART ONE**

******_In the Radiance of the Dark_**

****

****

Tokiya 

"Type two, Saiha, fire blade!!!" Recca began to call upon his dragon, ready to cut my throat off.

I drew my Ensui. "If you wish to fight with me, then do so. But I warn you, Hanabishi. Bear in mind that I was not the one who lost when we first fought."

"That was when we first fought, Mikagami! But I'm much stronger now, specially since I've gathered all my eight dragons and placed them under my control!!!"

"Hn, I don't care whether you have them or not, because I'm going to take you down even before you get the chance to summon them all!"

"Why you---" He jumped up and charged Saiha towards me. I lifted my Ensui to block his attack and pushed him back.

"You might have gotten stronger and defeated Kurei, but don't you forget that I've gotten stronger, too!!!" 

Recca gave me an angry smile. "Ha, shut up and just fight!"

"Wish granted!!!" I began to position my sword. Cheers from onlookers roared louder, obviously wanting Hanabishi and I to fight until the whole street went down. 

_Then I'll give them what they want--_

"What the--?" Someone had clutched my arm and made me lose my guard.

"Freezer Boy, you idiot, don't fight with him anymore! Remember what almost happened at the tournament because of you and Hanabishi's arguments?!? You guys almost lost to Neon back there!!!"

"Darn it, Fuuko, this is not your fight, so stay out of this," I looked away from her.

"But---"

"Here I come! Nadare, shooting fire!!!" Recca aimed.

My eyes widened._ Kuso! I had lost my lookout!_

I jumped up and began to make a counterattack, when I realized that Nadare wasn't aiming at _me, it was aiming at __Fuuko!_

"Fuuko!!!" Recca warned. Obviously he didn't expect Nadare to disobey his orders.

Fuuko wasn't wearing her Fuujin; she was unarmed.

I jumped back down and pushed her away. 

"Damn it! Fuuko, get the heck out of the way!!! Ugh--!!!"

Overwhelming pain surged through my body. _Blood…_

I felt the blood making it's way out of my mouth, and soon I was lying on the ground, the pain of Nadare's flames still invading my body. I kept my eyes shut, willing the flames and the pain to go away so that I could continue my fight.

But a soft, warm hand touched my cheek instead. "Are you alright?" the person said. I did not recognize her voice, no, it wasn't Fuuko; it wasn't Yanagi either. 

Slowly, I lifted my eyelids up. A pair of worried, light purple eyes met mine, her light blue hair reflecting my eyes.

I blinked. She was…

"Are you okay?" she repeated worriedly.

"Um…I…"

"Hey, Mikagami!!! Are you just going to sit there all day?!? Get up and let's continue!!! Or maybe you're chickening out!!!" Recca's mocking voice broke through in the faint background.

_Oh yeah, the fight!_

"You shouldn't go back there, you're really badly injured. The wounds might deepen if you continue to fight," the woman said in full concern.

_Concern? Concern?!? She doesn't even know me!!!_

"Hn," I began to sit up. "Stay out of this, lady. I've got more important things to worry about."

"Wait," she clutched my shoulder.

"Damn you! What do you----" my eyes widened and I was frozen in place.

She had placed her hand on my forehead, just beneath my bangs.

"You're in really bad shape. Please don't go out there again," she told me, her lavender eyes pleading.

"But…I…uh," her soft touch had left me bewildered. Who was this woman? Why was she so concerned about my safety?

"Please, let me heal you before you go back there," she raised her hand over my head, and took mine in the other.

"Wha…what're you---"

"Shhh….." she smiled at me. Somehow, I stayed in my position, letting her do what she willed.

I could feel the pain of Nadare's flames beginning to lessen, until they were gone.

_She has…she has the same power Yanagi possessed…how come that blasted Kouran Mori didn't have her hunted down?_

"There, that should help you temporarily," she gave me another one of her smiles, a smile that made me want to stay and gaze at it more. She was being so nice…why had she bothered to use her chi in order to help me, someone she didn't even know? Why did she want to be involved in this, when she didn't have to be at all? Any ordinary passer-by could've just ignored our fight or called the proper authorities. But she…she was different.

"Who…are you?" 

She smiled at me once more.

"Botan," she replied, her melodious voice calming my very soul. "But it wouldn't be fair if I didn't know you, would it?"

"Tokiya. Mikagami Tokiya," I unbelievably heard myself say.

Her eyes sparkled and her smile widened in delight. "You're a member of the Hokage team, aren't you?"

"Hai," I felt at ease with her. I felt as though I could pour everything out to her without a hint of hesitation.

She giggled. "Ah yes, I've read about you in Koenma-sama's files---oops, I mean, um…"

"Mi-chan!!!"

_Huh? Fuuko was running towards me, with Domon beside her._

I shook my head to clear away all the stupid, nauseating sparkly thoughts about some crazy woman I didn't even know and stood up, straightening my shirt. My Ensui shortened back in place.

"Mi-chan! Daijoubu?" Fuuko checked me out.

"Hn. Where's the fire brat?!?" I looked around, searching for Recca.

"I'm right here, Mikagami," he approached me, "so how did Nadare fare against you?" he asked smugly.

I narrowed my eyes at him. "You idiot! You almost hit Fuuko back there, fool! What was your _stupid fire dragon thinking? What were __you thinking?!?"_

"Hey, it's not my fault Nadare disobeyed my orders, you know!" he glared.

"Well, then why don't you teach your dragon a thing or two? Obviously you haven't been getting along with it."

"_What did you say?!? You take that back, Mikagami!"_

"Hn, you wish," I snapped, drawing my Ensui again.

"Mikagami-san…" Botan had grabbed my hand.

"…" I looked back at her.

"Please, Mikagami, as much as possible, I don't want you to fight yet," she pleaded.

"Botan, I'm _not going to get hit again," I assured her, not exactly knowing why I was bothering to do so._

"But…" she began.

"She's right, Hanabishi," Fuuko said to my opponent. "You both have to end this now. You guys always take things too personally. This is _not how team members __treat each other," she continued._

"Aw, c'mon, Fuuko, the battle's getting good!" Domon remarked. 

"You stupid hunk of an idiot!!! We're supposed to be _stopping them, not __encouraging them, you fool!!!" Fuuko snarled at him._

"Very well, Mikagami. We'll end this now. In fact, I think I'll end the whole teaming-up-with-you thing," he smirked. "Consider yourself kicked out."

I smirked back. "I wouldn't say kicked out. I'd rather say I _quit your stupid team."_

"_N-nani?!?" Fuuko and Domon said at the same time._

"I'll leave you alone now, but should you make one more false move on me, I'll surely have my dragons feed on you!" Recca turned to leave.

"Your dragons might even feed on _you, since you barely get along with them," I mumbled to myself, watching Recca leave._

"I'm glad _that was over," Botan beamed at me. I turned to look at her._

"Why did you bother to heal my wounds and cease our fight?"

"I simply don't want people fighting for no valid reasons," she grinned.

I looked at her, narrowing my eyes in the way that always scared off anyone I ever gave it to. But she just grinned at me again. Like crazy. She obviously didn't know whom she was talking to. But somehow, I liked the way she smiled. She smiled like she didn't have a single care in the world. 

And that made me feel comfortable. In an unbelievably weird way.  "Botan…" I began, speaking almost inaudibly.

She looked past me at the setting sun in the horizon. "Well, I'd better get going, I really need to look for a place to stay before it gets late," she said.

I cocked an eyebrow. I didn't exactly know why, but knowing that this…this…_stranger had nowhere to go made me unexpectedly worried. "You don't have a place to stay?"_

"Um, well, that's because I'm just on a vacation right now… I'll be staying here for only three months, you know," she smiled once more.

Part of me wanted to give even just a small smile back, but another bigger part of me wanted to keep my cool, distant reputation of not cracking the slightest grin to anyone if not needed. So I just plainly nodded. "Naruhodo."

"Well, I'll see you again sometime!" she grinned, turning to leave and waving at me.

_Hopefully, I will, I thought, watching heaven's beauty slip away._

_Botan, huh…_

Ken 

_Where is__ that stupid orb??? I complained, searching for it in the dead man's pockets. In the background, I could hear Yoji's battle cry, slaying out all of the thugs blocking his way. Apparently, he wasn't done with his group of assailants._

_Damn! Still no orb! And this is the twentieth man I've killed and searched! Where is that blasted thing?!? _

"Ken!!! Have you found it yet?" Omi came running towards me.

"No stupid luck, you?"

He shook his tired head. "I've searched all the idiots that came my way. Still no orb."

"Where do these fools hide it???" I groaned, looking around for more men to search. Nope, all clear, except for Yoji's group.

"Aaaaagh!!!" Yoji approached us, furious. Obviously _he hadn't found the orb either._

"Darn it all!!! We've been failing all of our stupid missions lately!!! What the heck is _wrong with us?!?" he snarled._

I sighed. He was right. We _had been failing all of our recent missions._

"Maybe, we're getting sloppy," Omi remarked. He turned to face Yoji. "And _you're getting older."_

"_What?!? You say that again ya little brat!!!" he grabbed Omi's collar._

_Oh great, there they go again, I shook my head. But then I realized something: Aya hadn't returned yet._

"Hey, hey you guys, where the heck is Aya?" I interrupted their bickering.

Yoji dropped Omi back down. "Beats me, Aya goes wherever he wants to without notice. I thought you already got used to that," he said.

"Yeah, but, what if something's happened to him?" I predicted.

"Something's happened to Aya? You've _got to be kidding," he snorted._

"Yoji's right, Ken. Aya' d kill whoever' d touch him. Whoever would _come near him even," Omi countered._

"Yeah, but… you never _do know what the future holds, right? Aya needs our help. He can't do this alone. That's why we're a __team, remember?" I told them._

Yoji sighed. "You know, Ken, sometimes you're too nice for your own good."

I smiled to myself. That was a sign that they agreed to what I had said.

Omi looked around, searching for a sign of Aya around the park.

"How are we supposed to find him?" he asked. "The park's too big and we don't even have a clue----"

"Uggghhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!"

My eyes widened in alarm. That was…

"What was that?" Yoji asked.

"That was Aya!!! C'mon!" I ran towards the direction where the groan had come from. Sure enough, it was Aya, and he was fighting with a guy clutching a sword of ice. Aya's left arm was bleeding from a pretty big cut, probably caused by that guy's sword.

I lifted my claw and began to charge for the guy, when Omi held me back and pointed to the handle of the guy's sword.

"What the---" I began.

"Check it out!!!" Omi's eyes widened.

"It's the orb!!!" Yoji exclaimed.

I looked closer at the guy's sword. Yes, the orb_ was indeed attached to its handle. It said "WATER"._

"Is that the stupid orb we're supposed to get?" I asked.

"That probably is," Omi confirmed. "What else would it be?"

"Looks like Aya here hit the jackpot, huh," Yoji grinned. "Go for it, Aya! This guy's got the orb!!!" he cheered.

Aya's opponent, now distracted, turned to face Yoji, just when Aya jumped up and charged his katana towards him. He successfully cut the guy in half.

"Alright, Aya!!!" I pumped my fist into the air. Looks like he didn't need our help after all.

"It's too early to celebrate, Ken. Take a look at that," Omi pointed to the guy Aya was fighting with.

The guy dissolved into water and appeared as a whole person again behind Aya!

"What the heck was that?!?" I exclaimed, my eyes wide.

"Hn, you guys don't know anything about the Hyomon Ken techniques," he said smugly.

"Shut up!" Aya turned around and started to attack again, when the guy struck his sword on the ground, saying, "Tsurara Mai!!!" 

Suddenly little icicles started appearing all over the park, gashing our bodies until our wounds were not countable anymore. We had managed to break off some of the icicles, but new ones kept coming.

"Aaaargh!!!" Omi screamed in pain.

"O-Omi…aaagh…" The icicles were too much, too fast, too sharp. I couldn't block them off.

"What the _heck a-are these things?!?" Yoji winced._

"Damn you!!!" Aya growled, unable to move because of the continuous attacks.

"Do you wimps still wish to fight? This is what you get for attacking me for no reason at all!! I do not even know you---what the---? Ugh!!!" the guy winced, and he clutched his left shoulder in pain. The icicles fell down and ceased. I glanced at him: Omi had thrown one of his darts at the back of the guy's left shoulder. 

"I'm going to kill you for sure!!!" Aya leaped and lunged his sword at the unaware swordsman.

Yoji got up from his position. "Wait, Aya!!!" He drew his wire and blocked Aya's attack.

"Damn you, Yoji!!!" Aya dropped back to the ground. "What the heck do you think you're doing?!?"

"You can't kill him, yet, Aya! He's got the orb!!!" Yoji insisted.

"Well, who _cares if he has the orb? Why can't I just kill him and __then take the orb?" Aya protested._

"This kid's got potential!" Yoji continued. The guy narrowed his pale blue eyes at Yoji at the mention of "kid".

"Hey, watch your mouth, Yoji," I warned, straightening up as well.

Omi nudged him. "Told you nobody wants to be called '_kid'. So why don't you quit calling __me 'kid' as well?" he smiled._

"Shut up, Omi. And don't take advantage of this situation," Yoji faced the fuming Aya once more. "Think about how we've been failing our missions recently!!!" he said to him.

"Well we wouldn't be failing _this one if __you didn't stop me from killing this jerk!" Aya snapped._

Yoji shook his head. "No, no, no, _no. Don't you get what I'm trying to say?"_

_Oh, I get it, I smiled, "So what you're trying to say is that this guy here could be our---"_

"_Exactly!!!" Yoji gave me a little pat. "Ken, my man, finally you're catching what I'm getting at."_

Omi cocked an eyebrow. "Hmmm, we _do need some help around here…"_

Aya's eyes widened in surprise. "_What?!? Are you guys __nuts?!? You mean we have to let this freak into our team?!? You guys have __got to be kidding!!!"_

Yoji shook his head. "Nope, ain't kidding here," he turned to the injured swordsman. "So, _sir, you put up quite a show here. You've got __great power."_

The guy slowly stood up, staggering a bit. "Shut up!!! You attack me for no reason and now you're giving me compliments?!?  You think I'd be fooled _that easily??? There's __gotta be a catch," he clutched his shoulder tighter, wincing a bit. Omi's dart had pierced his skin rather deeply._

"U-um… no catch! No catch!!! What makes you think that?" Yoji replied nervously.

"Hn, I'm not as _stupid as you are," he reached for Omi's dart on his shoulder, and pulled it out with a little groan of pain._

"Hey, man, we're sorry about that, okay?" I said, approaching him. When he noticed this, he narrowed his eyes at me and gave me a look of death.

_Oh, great, this guy's as bad as Aya, I concluded, taking a step back._

"Hey, how do you actually plan to get the orb away from this guy?" I whispered to Yoji.

"That, my friend, is just a piece of cake. We get him to join us, sweet-talk this guy 'till he begins to like us, then we snatch his orb away when he's asleep," Yoji whispered back.

"_What?!? I don't think that's a very good idea, Yoji. This guy's not going to fall for that trick. He's too cautious and not to be underestimated," I countered lowly. "And besides, I thought you said you wanted him in our team to help us out in our missions."_

"I _know that. He'll continue helping us out and then when the time comes, we'd take away that orb," he continued._

"Yoji, that's _not going to work," I insisted._

"Hey, trust me, okay?" he cleared his throat and faced him again. "We made a mistake in attacking you and we apologize for that, right Aya?" he nudged him.

Aya pushed Yoji's elbow away and gave him the very same Look of Death this swordsman gave _me. I had a feeling that these two would get along __very well._

"So anyway," Yoji turned back to the water guy. "We were just wondering if you'd like to join our team. You know, you get to enhance your skill in killing."

I watched the guy's reaction. His eyes widened and he looked at Yoji questioningly like he'd just sprouted some leaves on his head. "_What?!?"_

Yoji gave him a smile. "Like I said."

The guy blinked in surprise. Then he gave a sly smile and soon he began to laugh.

"Was there something you said?" I turned to Yoji. He just shrugged.

"So," the guy gave us another sly smile. He raised his sword and the ice blade shortened. Soon, it disappeared into its handle. "Is _this what you're after?" he held up the handle and turned the orb towards our sight._

_What---how--? I positioned my claws. If this guy knew what we were up to, he might just refuse and resume his attacks. I was better off prepared._

"Hn," he smirked. "This Ensui keeps the memories of my dead sister and it is my most prized possession. I do not simply give it away to the likes of you. So if you fools think you can take my psychic device away that easily, well!" he gave an angry smile. "You're dead wrong."

"That's it, why don't I just kill this freak?" Aya raised his katana.

"Wait," Yoji waved his hand in front of Aya.

"However," the guy continued, "it really is a great stupidity to refuse such an offer."

I cocked an eyebrow. "What are you getting at?"

"If you really wish to gain my Ensui, then so be it. Since Recca has practically removed me from the Hokage team then I will join yours. You may still attempt to achieve my psychic device, because who knows, right? So try and get it, _if you can."_

_So, I guess the battle doesn't end, even though we're now teammates, I nodded._

Yoji smiled. "You're on, pal," he gave him a pat on the shoulder. "Name's Yoji."

"Omi here."

I just nodded at him. "Ken."

"And, of course, _Aya," Yoji clapped him on the back._

He looked away from us and mumbled something like 'I don't believe this.'

"You gotta excuse Aya here, he's just a _little bit too grumpy," Yoji said._

"So who're you?" I raised an eyebrow at the stranger.

"Tokiya."


	3. Cease to a Friendship

PART TWO

Cease to a Friendship

Kurama 

I got out of the living room and headed for the door to my apartment. Who could be ringing the doorbell at this time of the night?

My jaw dropped as I opened the door. "Botan?!?"

"Konbanwa, Kurama-kun!" she greeted as cheerfully as usual. "Sumimasen, I didn't mean to come over at 9:00 in the evening, but, I've been searching for a place to stay the whole afternoon and, well, to no avail."

"Oh, come in for a while then," I invited, stepping back to let her in.

"Arigato," she grinned and sat down on the sofa.

"Do you want anything to drink?" I asked her as soon as I closed the door.

"Oh, no, no, nothing at all. Actually, I just came over to ask you a favor," she said sheepishly.

"A favor?" I sat across from her.

She nodded. "I was wondering if you could help me get a room in this apartment. You know, since I don't really know how to register and everything," she looked at me pleadingly.

"In this same apartment?"

"Well, yes… that is, if you don't mind," she looked down.

I smiled. "No, of course I don't, but, what do you think the others would say if they knew you were living next door to mine?"

She looked at me. "You mean, there's a vacant room next door?"

"Yup, the lady there just moved out last week," I explained.

"Honto ni?!?" she beamed. "Well, then please help me register to that room!" She blinked. "I mean, um…since no one's really living there right now, and…um…"

I smiled to myself. I had to admit, Botan's not been quite herself since she came to the ramen house this afternoon. I didn't really know why she was acting kind of differently, compared to her usual self during her duties as our spirit guide in our missions, but it was okay. She was still as cheerful, as sweet, and as nice as before. Maybe she was just a little tired from her works in Reikai.

I stood up. "Well, okay then, let's go down to the receptionist."

Her smile widened. "You mean, you'd really help me stay next door?"

"Sure."

"That's great! Thank you _so much," she got up and I led her out the door and down the ground floor. She was pretty thrilled when we used the elevator instead of the stairs, which she probably took to get to my room. All the way she was smiling and marveling at the way the doors opened on their own. Didn't they have these in Reikai? Probably not. Besides, she could just fly around on her oar in Reikai if she wanted to._

And she always grabbed my arm in fear every time the elevator did a little flip-flop.

I didn't mind, of course. It was just typical for her to do that.

After everything that needed to be confirmed in the reception area, Botan finally was given the room next to mine. We got back up to that floor, and as soon as we had, she turned to face me again.

"I'm so sorry to make you bother so much for me," she apologized. "It's just that I really don't know where to stay and how to---"

"It's not a problem, Botan-san," I chuckled. "I'm glad I could help you out."

She smiled at me sincerely. 

"Thanks again, Kurama. Thanks a lot," she said as she got to her new room.

"Good night, Botan," I opened the door to my room.

"Oyasumi nasai," she smiled once more and entered her room. I waited until she closed the door before I entered mine.

Did Botan even know how to lock the door?

I shook my head. Silly girl.


	4. Torn Amid Purple and Blue

PART THREE

Torn Amid Purple and Blue

****

Tokiya 

_This must be it, I thought, looking up at the shop's sign the next morning.  __Koneko no Sumu Ie._

I knocked on the door of the shop. It had a sign that said it was still closed, so I couldn't just barge in without notice.

Ken came and opened the door. "Hey, Tokiya, you came. I thought you were going to back out."

"Hn, don't even _think that you know me too well," I said._

"Yeah, well, you've got a point. C'mon in," he stepped back and closed the door as soon as I got inside.

"Hey, it's Mikagami-kun," Omi looked up from the pot he was holding.

I looked around and almost laughed out loud at what I saw.

"A flower shop? You _assassins work at a __flower shop?!? You're kidding me," I smirked._

"Shut up, Tokiya," Aya grumbled from the corner of the shop. Boy, he was a worse leader than Recca.

"So then what are we supposed to _do here?" I asked Omi._

"Well," he ticked off with his fingers, "you water the plants, you put 'em in a pot, you---"

"And you got to survive the horde of schoolgirls who come here the very moment the store opens," Ken rolled his eyes. "They never stop bugging us no matter how much we try to send them off."

"That's also a good thing," Yoji said, "just think: you won't have to set off looking for the girl of your dreams. You'll just have to wait 'till they come to you. But it'd take an awful long time, though; it's hard to find your love among these girls. They're just too…_forward," he went on._

"Anyway, Tokiya, if you're joining our team, then you'll have to live in our apartment, too. That way it'll be easy for us to meet up every time there's a mission coming up. That okay with you?" Ken put a hand on my shoulder. I winced a bit. The deep wound that Omi's dart had caused last night wasn't that well yet, and a rather big scar was marked on my left shoulder at the moment. Obviously, Ken had forgotten about that.

I shrugged. "It's not like I'll be needing to get in deep thought about it. I'm pretty much just living on my own now that my sister's…" I trailed off. "Forget it," I shook my head, scolding myself silently for almost slipping my tongue.

_Thump!!!_

_"Aya!!! What in blazes do you think you're doing?!?" Yoji scolded._

I looked at Aya. He had dropped the sprinkler he was holding at what I had just said.

"Um, Aya-kun, daijoubu desu ka?" Omi asked worriedly.

Aya didn't respond. He kept staring at the pot of flowers he was once watering.

"Aya?" Yoji shook him by the shoulders. "Hey, hey Aya! Snap out of it!"

It was just at that moment that Aya seemed to return to his senses. He shook Yoji's hands off, and narrowed his eyes into slits at him.

"Hey… wait a minute… sorry, okay? No need to get harsh now…" Yoji took a step back.

Ken sighed and turned to look at me. "You need to help out at the shop, Tokiya."

"No way," I glared at him doubtfully.

"You're in, you work," Aya muttered from behind me.

I opened my mouth to say something, but then _he glared at __me. "__Not a single objection."_

Ken grinned. "Why don't you go get two more pots out back?"

I sighed. "Alright, _fine," I snapped._

I went and did as I was told. And when I got back, they had already opened the store. And true enough, huge masses of schoolgirls surrounded each and every one of the Weiß guys.

I just stood there, not quite sure of what to do.

Ken pushed away one girl who was practically gluing herself to his shirt. "Kenken-chan!!!" another one of them grabbed his sleeve and pulled him away from the other girls, who shouted in protest.

I looked over at Yoji's group. They were all leaning over at him behind the counter, and one was toying with his shades.

Omi was desperately trying to avoid his admirers by walking back and forth the shop, carrying some pots, pretending to be _really busy._

Aya, on the other hand, was just staring out the window, oblivious to the girls who were staring at him dreamily and practically fainting on the spot.

I forced myself not to burst out laughing. It was a pretty hilarious sight; so I guess this was what the Weiß team had to go through every morning. No wonder Ken was really pissed when he was talking about the horde of girls. I _would call it torture, myself. Still, it was kind of unbelievable. These were highly trained __assassins. They could annihilate thousands of men in single blows,_

and yet they could not send these girls away? 

_Hn, foolish._

"Hey, Tokiya! You're back," Yoji managed to notice my arrival despite all the girls who were blocking his sight. 

Just my luck. Because of Yoji acknowledging me, some of the girls turned around and began to cast their wicked smiles at _me._

"Is he new here, Omi-kun?"

"Does he work here, too?"

"He sure is cute!"

"I think he's my type!"

"This flower shop is _so blessed with bishounens!"_

"Yatta! A new kawaii guy!"

Some girls gathered around _me, now, asking my name and my age and all those insignificant information. __Ugh, repulsive._

Ken began to laugh. So did Omi. "You'd have to live through all this from now on, Mikagami!' Ken remarked.

_Oh darn, this is pure torture, I thought, trying to make my way to the counter through the disgusting girls around me. But then I spotted something that made me stop dead in my tracks._

The sight of the roses at one corner of the shop had stabbed me so.

_Roses…ugh…_

I've always despised roses since the first time I met my cousin when I was still a little kid. I've despised them, reviled them, detested them. Especially red ones. Which were exactly the roses that were sitting there in the corner. Roses. Red. I shut my eyes close and clenched my fist. All the girls surrounding me disappeared in thought and the memories of my cousin flooded back to my brain. My cousin. My rival. _Damn him!!! I still remembered everything well. The way he'd made my life miserable even when we were still kids. The annoying way he walked. The way his green eyes sparkled in sarcasm. The way he turned my life into a nightmare.__ Damn him, damn him, damn him! I was clenching my fists too tight that my knuckles began to turn white._

Thankfully, Yoji broke my way to insanity.

"Hey! How's it going?" he said to someone I didn't notice enter the shop, since my back was to the door.

"I'm _fine, Yoji, and don't you dare ask me out on another date again! The last time I went out with you I ended up barfing at the food!"_

My eyes widened. I recognized that voice. It was soft, sweet, yet firm. It was…

"Hey, I'm sorry, okay? It's not my fault that restaurant served awful food," Yoji countered.

"Yeah, well it's _your fault you brought me there!" the lady snapped back._

I turned around. "_Fuuko?!?"_

She gasped when she saw me. "Freezer Boy?"

"You both _know each other?" Yoji asked, bewildered. Fuuko glared at him, and he smiled at her apologetically, stumbling back behind the counter because some girl pulled him back._

I squeezed through the girls around me. "What are _you doing here?!?"_

"Actually, Mi-chan, I'm the one who's supposed to be asking you that," she said, placing her hands on her hips, "and your answer better be good."

"Um, well…I---"

"Mikagami works here now, Fuuko-san," Ken stepped beside me, giving me another pat on the shoulder.

"_Ow! Damn it, Ken! You've been doing that ever since I got here!!! Have you forgotten about that wound your friend __Omi here gave me last night?!? Or are you just trying to make me miserable?!?" _

"Hey, take it easy, man, I'm sorry!" He grinned.

"I often come to this shop just to check out the flowers with Yanagi, and boy, is it always _packed!" she told me, and then she turned to Ken. "Kenken, are you __serious? Freezer Boy __works here now?" Fuuko grinned evilly at him._

He flushed a light shade of pink. "Stop _calling me that!"_

"_Kenken-chan!!!" the girls around him cheered._

"Oh _great," he grumbled, burying his head into his hands. I watched him as he desperately tried to make the girls stop with the stupid pet name. But since the ladies thought he was "cuter" whenever he was embarrassed or mad, they didn't quit. Ken almost fainted on the spot._

He was almost pitiful.

Almost.

I was glad the girls gathering around _me didn't call me by any nicknames like MikaMika-chan (gag me) or Mi-chan--how Fuuko called me most of the time when she wanted to piss me off--or anything stupid. _

Well, if they ever would, then I'd just grab my Ensui and scare them all away. Then again, it was probably not that easy, since the Weiß team had been suffering this torture for quite a long time now, yet still they haven't gotten rid of these flirts. They've probably tried threatening them already, but to no avail.

Fuuko tugged on my shirt to get back my attention. I turned to look at her in irritation. "Nani???" I asked almost too harshly.

She didn't seem to notice. "Could I please have a moment with you, _alone?" she jerked her head towards the giggling girls around me. They were looking at me questioningly, waiting for my answer, probably hoping I wouldn't agree._

_Anything to get rid of these fools even for just a while, I considered._

I looked at Fuuko as sweetly (and reluctantly) as I could. "Absolutely, Fuuko-_chan, let's go together," I winced at the incredibly cheesy and abhorrent words I never in my whole life used to people in public, but I ignored it and took her hand, pulling her out the store. Outside, I could hear some of the girls groaning. I immediately dropped Fuuko's hand and sighed in relief to myself. __Good riddance._

"Aw, _sheesh, __Mi-chan! Are you out of your mind?!? What was with the 'chan' thing? And did you ever notice that you used the word 'together'?" Fuuko glared at me incredulously._

I winced again. "Don't remind me. And it's not like you should know," I turned away.

"Alright, alright! Don't get too grouchy on me, too!" she frowned, her eyes putting up that I'm-so-hurt-so-apologize-to-me-act.

I looked directly at her, trying for at least one minute not to give in to her foolish trick with the eyes thing.

Well, I failed.

"Okay! Okay! I'm _sorry, alright?!?" I told her, sighing. "There! I said the "s" word! You happy now, Fuuko?!?"_

"Ha! Apology accepted!" she said smugly. "Works every time."

"Don't get too cocky."

"Well, it's true, isn't it? I, Kirisawa Fuuko, made the touchy Mikagami Tokiya _apologize!!!" she laughed like crazy._

"Shut up," I mumbled.

She piped down and did that stupid eye trick again.

"That's it!!! You're worse than the girls from the shop!!! I'm going back in there," I turned to get back inside.

"Wait, Freezer Boy!" she grasped my shoulder.

"_Damn it!!! It __hurts, don't you get it?!? Have you been taking lessons from __Ken or something?!? And what's with the repulsive '__freezer' thing?!? Has it ever crossed your microscopic mind that __I have a __name, too???" I pulled my shoulder away, my irritation level rising up big time._

She stifled a giggle. "Gomen nasai…"

I folded my arms across my chest. That was when she saw the cut on my shoulder. I still didn't get how she saw it beneath the sleeve, but she did anyway. She looked all worried and she started fussing over the blasted thing.

"M-Mi-chan…what…what happened to that?" she pointed to it. 

I looked away from her. "None of your damn business."

"But…Tokiya…it's a really big cut, and---"

"What the heck do you want to talk about, anyway?!?" I snapped, getting more annoyed by the minute.

Finally, her features turned serious. "It's about your job here in the flower shop."

"Well, what about it?!?" I prompted. "It's just my first day here, okay? So if you think I made any mista---"

"No, no, it's not that," she looked at the sidewalk. "It's just that, I've heard about these guys you work with. They're…they're assassins, if you don't know, and---"

"You _know they're assassins? How did you find out?" I asked, surprised._

"I've heard about that, okay? But that's not my point," she said, still not looking at me.

"Well, _what is?!?" I began to lose my patience._

"Mi-chan…" she said, this time facing me. "Just answer me this one question."

"Spill it, Fuuko. I don't have all day."

She didn't tear her eyes away. "Why do you want to leave Hokage?"

_How'd she know I was joining Weiß? I blinked, uncertain of my reply. Why __did I leave Hokage?_

"Hn, that's not your concern. Besides, it doesn't really matter anyway," I responded.

"It _is my concern and it__ does matter!" her eyes were a pool of emotion. And this time, it was no eye trick._

"Don't you notice how many times Hanabishi and I fight nowadays? It never stops! Hanabishi is just a pure, damn jerk. And to him, I'm a jerk, too. Well, I'm cool with that. But just think about how it will be. Every time we need to defeat someone, he would get in my way and I'd get in _his way. We __won't get along. You said it yourself yesterday. We'd just lose just like how we almost did with Neon back in the tournament. So I figured it was for the best to---"_

"No, it's not for the _best! That must be how you are with __Recca, but how about with Domon? With Koganei? With Yanagi? With…with __me?" she reasoned softly._

I stood there, looking at her, taken aback. I was being asked the same question over and over again to myself. I couldn't bring myself to reply.

She sighed in depression. "I'll miss you in the team, Freezer Boy," she tried to smile. "I'll drop by often here at the shop, to see how you're doing. And we can still talk and everything…" she trailed off.

_I guess I hadn't thought about it much…_

I shook my head. "Don't be silly, Fuuko," I said, trying to show her that this matter didn't bother me much._ "It's not the end of the world, you know."_

"Hey, you two," Omi walked out of the shop and approached us. "The guys were kind of wondering where you both disappeared to all of a sudden. We even thought you both sneaked out on a date already! Yoji was kind of upset. He kept peeking out the window practically every second."

"You've lost your marbles, Omi," I remarked, glaring at him.

"Hey, it was possible," he shrugged. 

"I have to go now, Mi-chan," Fuuko said to me. Then her expression changed as she turned to Omi. "Tell Yoji, absolutely _no more dates. I gave him a chance once and the food was a hundred percent pathway to BarfLand! Ugh…I don't even _like_ dating. You have _no_ idea how Yanagi forced me to go through with it," she shook her head, giggling, and walked away._

"Considering it was Yoji, I'm not surprised Fuuko-san was so disgusted," Omi grinned and turned to me. "C'mon, Mikagami-san," and he got back inside.

I stayed there for a while, watching Fuuko disappear around the corner, a sinking feeling deep within me, something I couldn't portray.

_Snap out of it, Tokiya, I shook my head and started for the shop's entrance._

Aw, shoot; I was starting to get too sentimental.

Botan 

_Hmmm, 9:15 am? It is still a bit early…could Kurama-kun possibly be awake now?_

_Of course he is, silly. He's not the type who'd wake up as late as he could._

_I closed the door to my room as soon as I got outside. Ever so lightly, I closed it so as not to let Kurama hear me leaving next door. Because if he found out that I was going out into the busy city on my own, he'd freak out about my safety and would send someone to accompany me, if not __himself. He's __that __caring and sweet. Too bad he's that caring and sweet to __everybody, not just particularly to me._

_I tiptoed down the hallway, passing his room, heading for the stairs( I'd use the--what had Kurama called it last night? The elevator?--if only I knew how). ___

_Yes! I rejoiced inwardly. __I got past his room! Now I can finally go and check out the Ningenkai cities fully!!! __I can also--_

_"Just where are you planning to head for, Botan-san?"_

_I froze at the sweet, calm, and soft voice from behind me. Oh no…._

_I turned around and put on my biggest, pleading smile. Kurama was leaning against his door, arms folded, a warm smile upon his face. A warm smile that somehow, I knew, was only meant for me. For me, and no one else. "Kurama-kun! I was just, uh…"_

_He shifted from his position and stepped closer to me. "You're not going anywhere without me, are you?" he said softly._

_"O-of course not," I said, stunned. What had that meant?_

_"Well, then why didn't you inform me about where you were going?" he continued in that soft, melting voice that he'd never used on me before. In fact, I think he's never used it on anyone before._

_"Well, I-I…um…" I stammered, still not believing that Kurama was showing even just a small hint of interest, in me._

_"Next time, do tell me where you are going, I don't want you to leave," he said, stepping even closer to me that we were only inches apart._

_I just nodded while staring into his emerald eyes. I could not bring myself to speak. I had lost my voice. His nearness had taken it away._

_"Good," his voice softened even more, touching my cheek, his face leaning closer and closer until his soft lips were on mine._

_I couldn't believe it!!! It was a pure dream come true!!!_

Wait, it _was a dream, only, it wasn't true._

I was snapped awake by the sudden break of the bus I was in. So, it had all been just a dream. A dream of _exactly what had happened that morning, only, from the part where Kurama had found out I was leaving until the end of the dream, wasn't true. Kurama hadn't even cracked his door open. Maybe he hadn't noticed my departure. Or maybe he was still asleep. Because, after all, I really didn't know Kurama that well yet, anyway._

I paid my fare and got off the bus. It was already noon, and I had already checked out about half of the city. So far, I was in pretty good shape; the gang would be really proud of me when I get home in one piece, without a single injury. That'll prove to them that I could survive on my own, too. But now, I was really starving. If I didn't get some food soon, then I could kiss coming home in one piece goodbye. And in addition to the major hunger I was having, the sun's cruel strikes of noon heat on my back and on my head were gradually melting me down. 

_If this goes on, then I'll really kiss coming home in one piece goodbye. Maybe just the idea of being able to return would get kissed goodbye, too._

I trudged along the sidewalk, looking back and forth in search for a place to eat. I wished more than anything that Yusuke and Keiko's ramen shop was here right in front of me, which was really impossible since it was at the other side of town.

I rounded the corner in frustration, continuing my tiring search. My exhausted tummy was just about to give up, when at long last; I saw a noodle house across the street. I almost leaped up in overwhelming joy. _Yatta!!!_

I began to run across the street towards the store, rather unaware that the light was still on red and there were too many fast cars running along the street. Soon, naturally, a lot of car horns were honking at me, demanding that I get out of the way. And there was this car that was running too fast towards me; it kept honking but I guess my hunger had taken over the whole me that I didn't budge in fear. It was getting closer, and closer, and closer, until---

Strong arms swept me up my waist so fast that the next thing I knew, I was in the sidewalk, lying in the arms of someone I didn't quite recognize, and the car that almost hit me went speeding by, the driver really enraged.

"What were you thinking back there?" a male voice asked in concern. 

I turned to the guy who saved me. Yes, he looked very familiar, long; bluish-silver hair tied up in a ponytail, firm, light turquoise eyes, bangs and ear tails exactly like Kurama's. Yes, I knew who he was.

"Mikagami-san?"

He put me back down and placed a hand on his waist.

"T-thanks," I managed to say.

He shugged. "Goshimpai naku. Just something in return for helping me out yesterday afternoon."

"Oh, hai. Shibaraku desu ne," I said, relieved that he was here. I was just about to say another thing, when my stomach grumbled, _out loud._

His eyebrows shot up. "Haven't had your lunch yet, I suppose?"

I blushed in shame. "Well, yes, sort of…"

He nodded. "Yeah…I haven't either," he pointed to the noodle house. "Let's go, then."

"Hai," I agreed, and followed him inside. I didn't even consider the fact that I didn't know him that well, yet, and that he was a deadly person. It was just that I felt comfortable with him, like I've known him for a long time now. And I had full trust in him. Trust that he wouldn't do me any harm, and that he'd protect me. I didn't exactly know why I felt that way towards him, but, that was that.

"Oh wow!!!" I squealed at the food the waiter served and began to eat like crazy.

Tokiya was just looking at me absently, not even touching his food.

I stopped eating at looked at him. "Gomen nasai."

"No, no it's okay… I don't have much of an appetite, anyway," he replied reflectively and looked out the window.

"Tokiya-san, where…where do you live?" the words seemed to come out on its own. He turned back at me, a questioning look on his face. "Ah, I mean… it's just that this is the other side of town, and I was…um…"

He looked at me soulfully again, and slightly flinched, as if he suddenly remembered something terrible. Something he'd once lost. "You're so much like her…" he said almost inaudibly, then he looked out the window again, shaking his head. "I don't belong to Hokage anymore; I belong to Weiß, and live in their apartment now."

"But," I went on, taken aback, "what about your old home? Wouldn't your family be worried about you?"

"They would…if I _had a family," he replied wistfully._

I gasped. I hadn't read about _that in the Reikai files. I had no idea he was this sad. "I…I'm sorry…"_

He turned to me and tried to assure me he was okay. "You know, I used to have a sister, and she was almost just like you. Full of hopes, dreams…" he looked down. "It's just too bad she wasn't able to fulfill them…"

"What…what happened to her?" I asked, wanting to know so that I could comfort him. He was silent for a while, and I realized my mistake. "Oh, I'm sorry…you probably don't want to talk about that anymore--"

"She was killed by my very own trainer," he looked back at me, trying hard to keep a perfectly emotionless face, but his eyes could not erase his sorrow. "I was young then, I didn't know much; I hadn't recognized who caused her death at first. Before she died, she gave me my Ensui, and I used it for revenge. I wanted to find out who killed her so badly so that I could avenge her death. Soon enough I found out that the one who ordered her to be killed was Meguri Kyoza-sama, my master. He had wanted to enhance my potential by arousing my hatred. So I guess… she was killed, because of…me."

I

 was speechless. I hadn't expected this from the cold-hearted one from the Hokage team. Obviously, the Reikai files hadn't mentioned the reason for his coldness.

"Oh, gomen, Botan-san…no one wants to hear any of this, right? Sumimasen, please continue eating," he checked his watch. "My lunch break is due soon, I have to get back to the flower shop. I'm sorry I have to leave you on your own. Will you be okay?"

"Y-yes…but, what about you? You haven't eaten yet."

"Okage sama de, I'll be fine. I'm not very hungry anyway," he stood up and placed some bills on the table. "Consider this my treat. Until we meet again."

"W-wait…" I tried to protest, but he was already out the door before I could even say more.

I glanced back at the bills. _Tokiya no baka, you didn't have to bother…_

I smiled to myself. He was a really great guy.


	5. Blissful Torture to the Shattered Self

**PART FOUR**

Blissful Torture to the Shattered Self Kurama 

"Oi, Kurama, daijoubu ka?" Yusuke peered at me and I almost jumped back in surprise.

"H-hai, gomen," I replied, snapping out of my thoughts.

"Good," he sat back down beside Kuwabara, in front of the TV screen. "Kuwabara and I were kind of wondering if you'd turned into a statue or something."

Kuwabara shook his head. "That's what too many responsibilities can do to you. They slowly eat up your brain. You oughta relax a little, Kurama-kun. Play video games. Like me and Urameshi here," he jerked his head at Yusuke. They had invited me over to Yusuke and Keiko's place, and they were now curled up in front of the TV, competing against one another in video games.

I shook my head. "Go ahead; I'll just watch you guys," I said, as they both shrugged and went on with their game. Keiko entered the living room and smiled at me. "Do you need anything, Kurama-kun?"

"Um…no, nothing at all, thank you."

"Just call me if you do, okay?" she smiled sweetly. I nodded. Then her smile faded as she turned to Yusuke. She picked up a magazine on the floor and threw it at him.

"Ow!!!" Yusuke winced and turned his back on the TV and towards her. "Keiko, what's with the magazine?!?"

Keiko glared at him. "Don't stay too near the set! It's bad for your eyesight."

"Aw, sheesh, you haven't changed since I married you," Yusuke groaned.

"_Baka!!! Just do as I say!!!"_

"Maybe I made a mistake in proposing too soon," Yusuke grumbled, but did as he was told.

"_What was that, Yusuke?!?" Keiko demanded._

"Nothing! Nothing!" he said nervously.

"You too, Kuwa-kun," Keiko said.

"_Nani?!?" Kuwabara turned to her. "Why me?"_

"Because I said so! Do you have anything against that?!?" she glared at him, too.

Kuwabara sighed and did the same thing.

"Good!!!" then Keiko smiled at me again. "Gomen," and she disappeared into the kitchen.

"Oi, Urameshi, maybe you shouldn't have fulfilled your promise to her," Kuwabara remarked.

Yusuke just shrugged. I sighed. Yusuke had fulfilled his promise to Keiko that he'd marry her when he got back from Makai after three years. He complained most of the time about Keiko's firmness, but I always thought it was for the best since Yusuke really needed some firmness and control. He just didn't appreciate Keiko's attempts of making him a better person.

But that wasn't what was clouding my mind right now. It was Botan. She wasn't in her room when I had knocked this morning; I couldn't sense her chi anywhere near this side of town. I was especially worried about her since she didn't know much about life in Ningenkai. Sheesh, she didn't even know what an elevator was!

Where could she have run off to?

Had something happened to her?

Did Koenma-sama call her back to Reikai?

The very same questions kept playing over and over in my head. It was already 5:30, and she hadn't returned yet. It was making me worried sick each and every passing minute.

Hey, why was I worrying so much about her, anyway? She still had her powers, didn't she? And besides, if anyone would attempt to kidnap her or anything, then she'd just revert to her form that ningens couldn't see.

But still, even self-assurance couldn't stop myself from worrying. Not even being calm could.

And just when I was about to give up on waiting and decide to go look for her, the doorbell rang and Keiko ran to get it. My gaze followed the door to see who it was. And luckily enough, Botan popped in and started to tell Keiko something I couldn't quite make out. I frowned and stood up to head for her. She'd better have a good explanation.

"Botan! Where in the three worlds have you been?" I approached her and placed my hand on her shoulder, cocking an eyebrow.

"K-Kurama-kun! Nani…?" she gave me a rather surprised look, probably wondering what I was doing in the Urameshi residence. "I was…um…" she gave a quick, nervous glance at my hand on her shoulder.

Keiko was looking at me questioningly. I blushed and quickly withdrew my hand. "You were--?" I prompted.

"I was just…out seeing the city," she replied reluctantly.

"Out seeing the city?!? Don't you know how extremely dangerous it is for someone like you to be roaming around the city alone? Didn't you realize that people back here will get worried sick about you just like I was?" I snapped, the words coming out involuntarily.

Botan gasped and flushed a bright shade of red, adding more color to her already pink cheeks. "Y-you were…_worried about me? That much?" she asked, almost inaudibly._

"Um… well, I…who wouldn't be, anyway?" I countered.

I glanced at Keiko, who was now targeting a pure evil look at me, her lips forming into a rather wide, sly grin. "Kurama-kun…?" she said, her voice teasing.

"Ahem, ahem…..Kurama---?" I turned around. It was Yusuke, his head tilted, peeking at the little scene happening at the doorway, with Kuwabara, also wearing a sly grin.

"D-doushite…? Why…why are you all looking at me like that…?" I took a step back.

Kuwabara pretended to sniff something in the air. "I smeeeelll something heeeerrre," he remarked.

Yusuke nodded. "Kurama-kun?" then he pointed at Botan, wiggling his eyebrows at me. "Botan-chan? Finally?"

_Oh great. First at the ramen house, and now here, too? Why can't everyone just take the hint that any sane guy would freak out if he knew that a friend of his who doesn't know practically anything in this world was out in the big city alone? I glanced at Keiko, willing her to start lecturing the two boys like she did at the ramen house. But she, too, was grinning at me like crazy._

Boy, if I told them about the same-apartment thing, then they'd really jump into conclusions. 

Which they shouldn't. Because there was absolutely _nothing going on between Botan and me._

"Yusuke-kun," I glared at him. "No way, _iie, iie, iie. Absolutely __iie. Get it?"_

"Ah, denial. Such an evident thing," Keiko sang out, eyes twinkling.

I was beginning to lose my cool. What was wrong with them anyway?

I glanced at Botan. She was looking straight at the floor, practically melting it, her face burning, an expression on her face that was… I didn't know. Was it a smile or a frown…a mixture I couldn't quite define. It was actually pretty cute, if I say so myself.

_Hold it, I told myself.__ Cute? Have I lost my wits?_

I shook my head to clear away the thought. "Botan-san, sumimasen, demo… please inform me next time, okay? It's rather unsafe for you to go out on your own," I told her, smiling.

"And _you will go out with her instead?" Kuwabara remarked._

I ignored it and waited for Botan's reply. I wanted to make sure it wouldn't happen again.

"Hai, Kurama-kun, gomen nasai," she finally looked up from the floor and looked at me. She was smiling.  And for some queer reason, her smile seemed to reach deep within me all of a sudden. It wasn't a typical feeling, yes, I knew.

I went back to the living room with Yusuke and Kuwabara, while Botan followed Keiko into the kitchen. I kept my gaze on her until she was out of sight. Somehow, her way of walking that I'd never noticed before kept me gazing, oddly.

Unfortunately, Yusuke saw this and he once again cast an evil smile at me. "Has a certain deity finally captivated the kitsune's cold heart?" he said in a mock voice.

I reverted my gaze from her to him. "Don't be silly, Yusuke," I remarked, regaining my place on the couch. "I was just worried, that's all."

"Uh huh, right," Yusuke snickered and returned to his game.

I gave it some thought. But then I realized that everything that I had wanted to hide and didn't want to admit was true.

I looked out the window, Botan's stunning features clouding my thoughts.

I was afraid of it. Afraid of the truth. But it was reality, and I couldn't do a single, solitary thing about it.

I was afraid of no longer being positive about how I felt for Botan.

But one thing was for sure: the feeling certainly wasn't just friendship anymore.

Tokiya 

The psychic device was sparkling in my hand. Just like the way her eyes used to do. But then, she died, right before my very eyes…leaving only her memories…and…this…

_Oneesan…_

Why did that woman make me remember her so much? Botan…why?

I thought that I had tucked away remnants of the past…but that woman…the way she made me want to smile…brought back the way _Mifuyu made me smile…__her memories…and it only made it harder for me to go on without wistfulness. Their cheerfulness were so much alike…_

No…she definitely didn't look anything like her…Yanagi did, but Botan's personality matched hers perfectly. Just as cheerful…just as sweet.

I looked back at the Ensui in my hand. It used to be her only reminder, but now, it was Botan who reminded me more of her. 

A soft breeze blew towards the direction of the tree I was leaning against, and I tightened my grip on the Ensui, afraid that the wind would sweep by and take it away from me in a single glance. 

Take it _all away from me…like the way it took Mifuyu away…ever so swiftly, without letting me notice. __If only I had mastered the Ensui back then…I could've fought back…_

Why did she have to die, because of me?

I shut my eyes close, seeing only blackness, willing my memories of her to remain the same way. 

Black. 

Dark. 

Blurred. 

No more did I want to keep her in my mind in a clear vision.

But I was not successful, just like I hadn't always been in the past. I could not remove my motivation. She was the reason why I was fighting; to avenge her death. To search for her murderer. 

But I had found him, hadn't I? Meguri Kyoza-sama. So why not kill him now?

But if I did, then, what would be my purpose of even existing? Now that I have avenged her death? Then what? Will I ever fight again? Will killing her murderer ever bring her back to me? Her smile… Her comfort… Her tears…Her touch…Back to the way it all used to be?

A single, hot drop of tear rolled down my cheek, never wanting it to do so. But now it did. 

Because I knew the answer. 

No. 

Such pain and regret in that single word. Funny how such a word could change your whole life and leave you shattered. Crushed. Broken.

_No. __I will never be able to bring her back, no matter what I do. She's gone; nothing could erase that fact. Gone. Forever. Never to return again and never again to smile at me. Never again. _

_Never. _

_Gone._

_Damn it…oneesan…what am I supposed to do…?_

Slowly, I opened my eyes. And to my surprise, Fuuko was gazing at me, her eyes swallowing concern. She pointed her finger to my cheek, where the tear had dried. She gently brushed it away. "Mi-chan…daijoubu desu ka? Why were you…?"

I looked away. "Nothing. Let's just go."

I tucked the Ensui back into my pocket and followed Fuuko down the block. She had told me to wait for her after my job at the shop, so that we could walk together and I could accompany her home. I didn't know why I had agreed to it, seeing that it would only waste my time (I could've gone straight to the apartment and waited 'till the next mission arrived), but there was something inside me that persuaded me to agree. And seeing the way she was concerned about me, made me feel contented that I did.

We walked the first blocks in silence. Oddly.

"It's her again, isn't it?" Fuuko spoke suddenly.

For a moment I wanted to just shrug off the whole topic, but I figured it was time to share my thoughts with someone. Because it sure felt good when I almost did to Botan. But I didn't want it to come out that way, so I just nodded.

Fuuko gave me a weak smile. "Just as I thought."

Silence. It was pulling me to insanity.

"You know, you don't have to go on with it," Fuuko said again.

I looked at her in question. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Your goal," she said, still not turning to me. "You don't have to accomplish your goal."

I didn't respond. What did _she know about my goal? She didn't even understand how I was feeling! She had completely no idea how it was to lose someone you hold dear._

"Because it won't help," she went on. "It won't help at all. In fact, it'll make things worse."

"And just what do _you know about that? You don't even know how I feel."_

"I would if you'd tell me!" she turned to me, finally. "But you don't even try. You never did. That's what's making you so bitter. Everything's to yourself."

"Hn, it wouldn't help if I did. You wouldn't be able to do anything about it."

"Yes, I would!" she countered. "I'd help you ease yourself a bit. Maybe _then you can think straight. You can't always keep things to yourself." She stopped walking. "I know I won't be able to change things back to the way they were, but neither can you. So __please, Mi-chan, tell me how you feel. At least you'll have someone to talk to," she looked at me, her eyes softening, pleading. _

Did she really want to share my pain? Did she really want to suffer through every night, nightmares of the past haunting her mind, until she couldn't find time to breathe…or even release tears…? Did she really want to go through each day, trying to find a good reason to continue living a worthless life…or wake up every morning, knowing that someone had lost a life because she hadn't done anything to stop it…? Did she really want the pain and insanity of regret to ache in her heart with each passing minute…? 

I didn't think so.

I couldn't bear to make anyone else suffer the same way I was. No. I deserved all the suffering and bitterness for myself.

"I'm a mixture of helplessness, fear, and uncertainty. No one would want to share that feeling, Fuuko. You wouldn't be able to do anything about it," I said slowly, and continued walking past her.

"Mi-chan…Mi-chan, wait," she ran towards me and grabbed my arm. "You _have to tell me! I can't stand seeing you so…so alone---"_

"Why should I, Fuuko?" I looked at her. Didn't she understand? "Why should I? When all that will come out of it is more pain? Someone would have to suffer with me. Is that any better than it is now?!?"

"I _want to share it! I __want to, damn it!!! Your own self is slipping away and you don't even know it!!! You're keeping it all to yourself and it's driving you insane!!! Why don't you tell me, you idiot, and save the stupid __trouble?!?" she snapped at me, her eyes welling up._

I stared back at her, speechless. 

I hesitated. Upon seeing this, she took my arm and began sobbing in anger. "Damn it, Mikagami!!! Tell me!!! Why are you hiding in your own world?!? Why are you so preoccupied in _killing?!? Killing won't help, you fool! It's not what your sister would want you to do!!!"_

My eyes widened in surprise. I had never expected Fuuko to make such a big deal out of this. I never knew she had cared so much…for such a pathetic being like me…why would she bother trying to help someone whose only purpose was to kill…?

My hands twitched, as I watched her break down in front of me. She was crying. Crying for me. I had no idea what to do. I couldn't just let a girl cry her heart out like that. And we were right in the middle of the street, too. Something told me I needed to do something. But what? 

"So please stop it!!! Killing other people won't change anything!!! And so would keeping it to yourself the whole darn eternity!!! Mi-chan…kudasai! Kudasai…" she trailed off, her once sparkling, enthusiastic eyes now dull and expressionless. All her sobbing was giving her already pink cheeks more hue, as her shoulders shook.

Unknowingly, my hand slowly moved up to tentatively wipe the tears from her cheek. Her smooth skin sent shivers throughout my arm, and I quickly moved it away. I'd held her hand once, but I'd never touched any other part of her skin before…so this was how it felt…?

I continued staring at her, sobbing there like a child. She looked so sweet…so innocent…I was suddenly aware of how her slender figure was evidently shown by the gym suit she was wearing under a fairly short shirt. My eyes slowly traveled down from her face to her perfectly shaped waist…to her legs that were exposed by her fit cycling shorts, then back up to her—

Her—

I found myself swallowing heavily. I had never realized it before, but she had such…

Such…

_Such…what…? What the heck are you getting at???_

I shook my head and felt all the blood rush to my face. What was I thinking???

I blinked down at her, and I couldn't help but notice how much skin she had exposed. It was so tempting to--

_Ugh, damn it!!! I've seen her in her underwear before, for goodness' sake!!!_

"Fuuko…gomen…" I began, swearing to myself that I'd focus on the topic this time.

She sniffed, not meeting my gaze. I flinched. Was she mad at me?

I suppressed a sigh. She was right, though. Killing wasn't what my sister would want me to do. And that it would only make things worse.

"I need to get home," she said softly, her voice still shaking a bit.

"Hai," I nodded, and followed her.

We stopped in front of her house in silence.

"I'll tell you everything soon, when I'm ready," I said.

_What the heck are you saying, Tokiya? Have you gone nuts?_

She smiled faintly. "Promise, Mi-chan?"

"Promise," I nodded. 

_Did I just promise her I'd tell her _everything_???_

"Thanks, Fuuko."

Oh damn, I just thanked her!!! 

"Do itashimashite," she just looked at me, and went inside.

I still didn't know what happened. All I knew was that I _definitely needed to get my head checked._


	6. In the Dawning of Death's Beauty

PART FIVE In the Dawning of Death's Beauty 

**Kurama**

"_Yatta!!! I win again, Yuu-kun!!!" Botan pumped her fist in the air and began laughing really hard. _

I just smiled. It was already 8:30 pm; and ever since Botan came, she'd been competing with Yusuke in a computer game. It was her 23rd victory, but Yusuke was still not convinced that he could be beaten so easily.

He scowled. "You were just lucky, Botan-chan," he complained.

"For crying out loud, Yusuke, this is the 23rd time she had beaten you! Why don't you just accept defeat?" Keiko rolled her eyes in exasperation.

"Accept defeat? _Accept defeat?!? Are you crazy? Makeru mon ka!!! Let's do this again, Botan-chan!!!" Yusuke challenged._

I sighed. When was this going to end?

Botan yawned. "I don't know, Yusuke; I'm really tired now. In fact, I should be getting home."

"You just don't want to lose!" Yusuke said.

"Seriously, Yusuke, I can't go on anymore! I'm so tired. Besides, there's no challenge," Botan smirked.

"_Nani?!? What do you __mean there's no challenge?!?" Yusuke fumed. I stood up and grabbed his arms before he could do any damage._

"Now, Yusuke," I said, "there's no need to---"

"I'll show you challenge!!! C'mon and let's go on with the game!!! Why I'll run down that racing car of yours so badly you'll eat my dust!!! I'll make that finish line burn and the crowd cheer and make my name flash in bright neon lights that I'm top racer and I'll…………" Yusuke went on and on and on. I rolled my eyes. No one was listening to him. Poor guy.

Botan giggled. "Sumimasen, Keiko, for infuriating your husband here, but I really must go now, it'll get really late soon," she smiled at Keiko. 

Keiko just chuckled. "Oh, don't worry about Yusuke; he's always like this. He'll get over this soon. He doesn't have any reason to get mad anyway. It's true that he _is an awful racer," she grinned._

"Hai," Botan nodded. "Well, I better get going," she said, casting a sideways glance at me that was almost unnoticeable, if I wasn't gazing at her too much. She caught my gaze and blushed. She turned back to Keiko.

"Well, I'll be seeing you, Keiko-chan," she said, heading for the door.

"W-wait, I need to get home, too. After all, we live---" I trailed off when I realized what I had just said. Keiko was looking at me in honest confusion, while Kuwabara was grinning like crazy again, along with Yusuke, who had stopped bellowing. Botan was already flushing.

_Almost slipped my tongue back there… "I live… pretty far from here… so I better get moving before it gets really late," I continued. Yes, it wasn't very reasonable, but, what else could I say?_

I grabbed my coat and walked to the doorway. "Arigato gozaimasu, Keiko-san, Yusuke-kun," I turned to Kuwabara. "Oyasumi nasai."

Botan nodded. "Ja ne!" she called, waving at them. Keiko smiled, and I opened the door. Botan stepped out and as she gave one last bow to Yusuke and Keiko, I closed the door behind us. 

The air was cold; the night breeze wasn't very friendly. I myself still felt cold, but that wasn't what I was thinking about. Botan was shivering, and she didn't have much thick clothes on.

She began walking, trying to pretend that the cold night's breeze wasn't bothering her at all.

I watched her walk, rubbing her arms in attempt to keep herself warm. Her pale, light blue hair played with the breeze, making me want to reach for it and give it a gentle caress, just to feel its softness. " Botan," I called, catching up with her.

She stopped and turned towards me, smiling as if she was feeling okay. "K-Kurama-kun."

I took my coat off and wrapped her with it as soon as I caught up with her. She gasped.

"Kurama-kun, you don't have to…" she began. 

"I _want to, Botan-chan. It's quite cold; you need it more than I do," I said, smiling at her._

Her purple eyes sparkled and her lips curved into a smile. A rather beautiful smile, so gracefully dawning her pretty lips. "Arigato, Kurama."

I paused, gazing down at her heavenly features. It was odd that I hadn't noticed them before: purple eyes that shone so brightly, pale blue hair framing her delicate face, perfect pink lips, often curved into a sincere smile.

I kept my gaze on her, wishing that I could go on doing so forever. Neither did she tear her eyes away.

_So blind, kitsune. You have been so blind._

_The barrier of the Youko had been too impenetrable. _

_No more did you focus on other significant matters such as attraction and…love._

_Love… __it's drawing me near to her. __Tempting me to keep on gazing at her, to desire her soft touch, to wish to get lost in her soulful amethyst orbs…_

"Kurama…" she whispered.

I stepped closer to her, and reached out to tuck a few strands of her hair behind her ear. My other hand cupped her cheek, rubbing it warmly, enjoying the soft feel of her skin against my palm.

Her hand reached up to touch mine, as if not wanting me to remove it.

I stepped even closer still, my head slightly leaning forward. "Botan…"

She gave a small smile and slowly closed her eyes, approving of what I was about to do.

I lifted her chin up and leaned forward. I could now feel her heavenly breath, mixing with mine. We were so close, but I paused. So much had I wanted to feel her soft lips on mine, yet I couldn't bring myself to do so. It wasn't right; _we weren't right. We couldn't be together. No, not now._

I slowly let her go and stepped back. Upon my hesitation, she slowly opened her eyes, purple orbs looking at me in confusion, in disappointment.

I looked away from her, afraid that her eyes would only make me regret not kissing her, though given the opportunity.

"Gomen nasai, Botan-san, I was just tired," I remarked. "We should be getting home."

She gave me one last look of disappointment. Then, she lowered her head and began walking. I followed, and we walked the rest of the way in silence.


	7. For Silence Has Changed Its Fate

PART SIX _For Silence Has Changed Its Fate_

Ken 

"Omi!!! Watch your back!!!" I called out, a second too late. 

Omi turned around. "What the---? Ugh!!!" he fell limply to the ground, the razor sharp knives piercing his legs.

_Damn! I ran to his location and stabbed the man at the back; just before he planned to strike Omi's body this time._

I turned to Omi. "What the _heck were you __thinking?!?"_

He didn't respond. Maybe it was because of the pain. Or was it?

He pointed behind me, his eyes widening.

That figures. I turned around, and the very same thing that happened to him was about to happen to _me. But then the man stopped short, his now lifeless body falling towards me. I stepped back, and saw that the man's back was stabbed by hundreds of icicles, and Tokiya was behind him, smirking._

I looked at him gratefully, but he just turned around and did some more killing. I turned back to Omi. "Can you walk?"

"Um…" he said. I looked at his injuries. _Ooooh boooy. Man, that's gotta hurt! Surprisingly, Omi wasn't wincing or showing any signs of pain. __Tough kid, huh, Omi?_

I bent down and pulled the knives off his legs, blood pouring down. I grabbed the shirt around my waist and tore it to tie the separate parts around his wounds.

"That'll stop some of the bleeding for a while," I told him. He nodded and struggled to stand up.

"Whoa, stop with the attempts, you stay here for a while and let us handle this," I pushed him back down against a tree. He looked at me disapprovingly, but I ignored that and joined Yoji and the others.

Moments later I was kicking butt again. And after wiping out my horde, I stopped short in awe at Tokiya's techniques. _Man, this guy's a born killer, I thought, watching him move._

"Mizu Hebi!!!" he raised his sword and a water snake came forth, annihilating every man that came its way, until it killed the last man standing. 

Aya was oblivious to it, but Omi, Yoji, and I gawked at him, bewildered.

I walked over to Yoji. "Hey, you're right about this guy helping us out in our missions and all."

He grinned. "Yep, this guy's a major asset."

***

"Give it back, you little _twerp!!!" Yoji hollered, loud enough to wake the dead._

"Not until you tell me what file you deleted in my computer!!!" Omi yelled back.

"It was a _stupid accident!!! I'm sorry, okay?!? Now give the blasted thing back!!!"_

"Not in your _life!!!" Omi ran down the stairs, tucking Yoji's "special" shades so firmly in his pocket. So much for his so-called injuries. They had healed pretty quickly. Yoji bounded down the stairs, failing to catch up with Omi. He tripped, face-flat on the floor. Omi laughed his life off._

Yoji glared at him. "_Drat!!! I'll get you for that!!!"_

"Pipe _down, darn it! I'm trying to __read here!!!" I bellowed. But it was no use. The two were bickering too loudly that neither of them heard me._

I sighed. Why were they screaming so loudly at this time of night? If they didn't quit arguing soon, the neighbors would come barging in here, wanting their heads cut off.

I stood up and headed for the living room, at least a little bit farther from the rampaging war going on between Yoji and Omi.

"Why do they have to bawl so much?" I grumbled, heading for the sofa. But someone was already there. I paused, then walked over behind the sofa, resting my elbows on it, peering down on him, wondering what he was doing.

"What do you want from me, Ken?" Tokiya muttered, his back still to me.

"Nothing. Is there anything wrong with checking on you?" I grinned.

He kept silent. 

"You did a pretty cool performance out there tonight," I continued.

Silence.

Then I noticed that he was looking at a picture of a brown-haired young lady in his hand. _Huh?_

I jerked my head towards the picture. "She your girl?"

He slowly turned his head towards me and gave me another look of death.

I waved my hands in front of me. "Whoa, hey, I was just askin', you know."

He sighed and his eyes softened a bit. "She's my sister," he said almost inaudibly.

"Your sister?" I looked at him, then back at the girl in the picture. Her brown hair resembled Yuriko's brown locks, and all at once all of Yuriko's memories came back to me, each one piercing my soul as extreme sadness overwhelmed me once more. The scent of her hair, the striking features of her beautiful face, her soft skin, and…her tears…tears that she cried when she asked me if I really loved her. It was then that she asked me to leave the country with her…but I hesitantly refused…and now…

I clenched my fist. _I miss her so much…Yuriko…I want you to know that no matter how far apart we are…I still…_

_I still…_

"She's…very pretty," I remarked, admiring the resemblance of Tokiya's sister with her.

"Did someone say, _pretty?" Yoji came in the living room, grinning like crazy, a death grip on Omi's collar. He stepped beside me and peered over Mikagami's shoulder at the girl in the picture._

Omi winced. "Y-Yoji, let go of me…"

I sighed. _Yoji no baka…_

"_Whoa!!! She's one heck of a __cute gal!!!" Yoji howled, little hearts forming on his eyes. He turned to Tokiya. "Are you dating her or something? Hey, d'you think you could spare me one?!? Huh? Please, please, please? Buddy?"_

I glanced at Tokiya, who was now narrowing his eyes at him. 

"Hey, c'mon, just _one little date! Kudasai?" Yoji gave him a pleading look. _

Omi, who was still in Yoji's grasp, took advantage of the situation, since Yoji's hold softened a bit. He slowly slipped his hand into Yoji's pocket and retrieved the glasses that Yoji took back. Then, he slowly extricated from Yoji's grip and came running down the hall, snickering.

"Hey, you little weasel!!! Get back here!!!" Yoji ran towards him, forgetting all about the little date he was asking for.

I grinned and turned back to Tokiya. "You can't blame him for wanting to ask for a date with her, you know. Your sister _is pretty," I said. He just kept quiet._

"Where does she live anyway? She never really stopped by the shop to see you, or anything. Does she even know that you're moving?" I sat down beside him.

He gave a faint snort. "She probably does, only…she won't be able to visit me," he replied.

I looked at him in shock. He was _talking to me? But I had thought that he was more like Aya._

Cold. Quiet. But I guess I was wrong.

I grinned, seeming to have more interest in the conversation. "Why do you say that?"

He paused and hesitated for a while. "She's dead."

"_Nani?!?" I stared back at him, extremely unaware of it._

He just nodded and blinked absently. "It's ironic, isn't it? She never got to show around her beauty much longer." He looked down at the picture with hooded eyes.

I was surprised at how…how… _calm he was. I mean, he didn't seem upset much, like it was no big deal. "Don't you miss her?"_

"Are you kidding?" he mumbled wistfully. "I have her in my mind 24/7."

"Let me guess. That's all you've been living for, right? You want nothing more but to avenge her death, ne?" I asked smugly.

"Well, at least that was what I _used live for," he turned to face me. "How'd you know that, anyway?"_

"That happens to _everyone," I sighed. He cocked an eyebrow at me in question._

"Well, that happened to _Aya, at least," I continued._

"Aya? His sister died, too?" he looked at me doubtfully.

"Well, it's almost like that. She's in a pretty awful coma right now; and Aya's been living pretty much for revenge, too. That's why he always has bad days," I shook my head. "It gets in my nerves sometimes. He's just too quiet; you never know what he's thinking. One moment he's just sitting there, and the next thing you know, his katana's at your throat just because you cracked a lame joke. He's too darn touchy," I complained.

Tokiya looked down at the floor.

"Heck, his name's not even Aya," I continued, "he's just---"

"Yo, _Ken!!! Get down here!!! Omi's got something in the Net!!!" Yoji yelled from downstairs._

_Nani? The two had already gotten along? I stood up. "Say, Tokiya, call Aya for me, will ya?"_

He just nodded and went upstairs. I rushed downstairs to check things out.

"So what did Computer Kid find now?" I grinned at Omi. He stared back at me, his eyes narrowing.

"Beats me; this kid just find things that pop outta nowhere," Yoji lit a cigarette and I stepped beside him to peer at the screen.

Omi ignored that remark. "Where's Aya?"

I shrugged. "I told Tokiya to call for him."

"Shouldn't we wait 'till he comes?" Omi asked.

"Nah, he wouldn't be interested in this much. I think it's about Tokiya's orb, and Aya's _definitely not into that topic," Yoji took a puff._

I gave him a small glare. He was oblivious to it, though, since he was too busy smoking. I turned back to Omi. "We'll just tell him what it's all about again later. In the meantime, spill it out for us both."

Omi just shrugged. "Okay then," he turned to the screen. "See this?" he clicked on an image.

"Yeah, so what's that supposed to be?" I looked closer.

"That's Tokiya-kun's orb. It's a 'psychic device' as they call it, and it gives his sword the power of water and ice. It's a rather powerful device, but Tokiya-kun was able to master the techniques."

"I'll say. Check out the way he had wiped out those crappy idiots tonight in just a single water snake. And do you remember that time he sent icicles towards us? Boy, those blasted things sure hurt," Yoji complained.

"That's the reason we're after it, right?" I reminded.

"That's the whole point, see," Omi clicked on another image. "The one on the Ensui _isn't the orb we're after. It's __this."_

"That?!?" I pointed to the image on the screen. "_That filthy old thing? You've __got to be kidding."_

"Yeah, how come you're so sure about it?" Yoji frowned.

"I'm _positive that this is what we're after," Omi gave the image a zoom. Heck, the orb didn't look powerful at all! It was like some sort of junk. Tokiya's orb looked __way more powerful than this._

"You mean, you're _not_ kidding?" I asked Omi.

He shook his head. "It's called the Ruffian's Sphere. It has the power to trap souls in it. Legend has it that the Ruffian's Sphere, together with the Ghost Slayer sword and the Mirror of Utter Dark, belongs to another world, and that it is not found in this world."

"Great. We're supposed to look for something that doesn't even exist. How are we supposed to do that?" Yoji grumbled.

Omi just shrugged. "This means that Tokiya's orb doesn't have anything to do with us at all."

"Look, quit fooling around, okay, Omi? We need some cash, and right now we're out of 'em since we've practically failed all of our latest missions. So you better not kid around at a time like this, Omi. Cut the joke and get to the real thing," Yoji demanded.

Omi shook his head. "I'm not fooling around, Yoji-kun. This _is the real thing," he said._

Yoji cocked an eyebrow at him. "Seriously?"

"Seriously."

"So _how in the whole universe are we supposed to gain that imaginary thing?" I asked in frustration._

Omi grinned. "Check this out." He clicked on something else. "See that lady in the picture?"

I squinted. It wasn't too clear, but yes, I could make out the features of the girl. She had pale, blue hair and purple eyes. She was kneeling over someone, her hand on the guy's forehead. I made a face. It didn't make any sense.

"What's _that gotta do with anything?!?" Yoji remarked impatiently._

"Some news reporter captured this picture and placed it in the papers. Some guy in this site scanned it from the papers and now here it is. This incident just happened yesterday afternoon, when two guys some blocks away from here were having a street fight. The other one got hit and fell down to the ground with a lot of injuries. _That guy, happened to be Tokiya-kun," Omi explained._

_Tokiya? I looked closer at the guy the lady's hand was on. Silver-ish blue hair, light blue eyes, an ice sword in hand. Indeed, it was Tokiya._

"Now, this blue-haired girl here, came to him and performed some sort of medication on Mikagami-kun, to the amazement of the onlookers. That was how it got in the news in the first place. And the amazing thing is, that the girl didn't have any device on her that could've triggered her healing powers. Now, many suspect, including the media people, that this girl came from another world," Omi continued.

"Oh, I get it. So this pretty babe here could be our cue and our key to getting that darn orb that comes from another world," Yoji grinned.

"Is she our target now?" I asked.

Omi nodded. "We need to get some information. The odds of her knowing anything about the Ruffian's Sphere aren't too many, considering that the orb coming from another world is only a legend and this girl coming from another world, too is just a guess, but we've got no other alternative. We might as well take the chance and question her," he suggested. 

I nodded. _So desu ka…_

Tokiya I knocked on Aya's door lightly. It wasn't like I was expecting an answer or anything, so I slowly opened it and stepped inside. Aya was sitting by the window, an expression on his face that meant he didn't want to be disturbed. 

"Hey, they've got something for you downstairs," I said simply. Naturally, he didn't respond.

I plopped down on the edge of his bed. He didn't even budge or look at me. Then I noticed the earring that was dangling on his ear. 

I cocked an eyebrow. "You know, I also used to think that killing was the only thing that made me feel contented with myself. I always thought that avenging my sister's death would be the only time when I'd feel peace. I thought that by killing her murderer I'd make her happy because her murderer had paid. But I guess I was wrong. Someone just told me this afternoon that killing would never bring her peace. It would just make things worse. It wouldn't be what she'd want me to do if she were still alive. And that it would never change anything if I killed more and more people." 

"Stop with the damn lecture, Mikagami. I've heard lots of this before. Besides, why are you telling me all this, anyway? Stay out of my business, you don't even know me," he turned to face the window again.

I looked at him. His back was still to me. "Maybe you're just the same, Aya. It wouldn't be what your sister would want you to do." 

He narrowed his eyes at me, as if wanting me to leave before he got the chance to cut my throat off.

But I stayed in my position. Keeping my cool just like I always did. And it always worked.

He kept glaring at me, but after a few moments, he sighed and returned his gaze out the window.

And unpredictably, he replied lowly, "Have you avenged her yet?"

I hesitated. But what was the use? "I've found out who killed her, but I never really got around to killing 'em. It wouldn't make any sense anymore if I did." I replied slowly. _No, it wouldn't make sense at all. Nothing would change. Mifuyu would still remain dead. Nothing could possibly change that now. No. Nothing at all._

Silence dawned upon the room for a while: neither of us speaking nor budging. I took another glance at my Ensui. _Are the Weiß Kreuz still after it? What was their purpose? What did they want from it?_

So much as I had wanted to make peace with the group, I couldn't just give it up. Besides Botan and Yanagi, it was my only reminder of her, and I wouldn't want to lose it, just like I had lost Yanagi to Recca. Yanagi, another reminder. Would I lose Botan soon, too?__

_No, I don't want to. I don't._

Or did I? Did I want to remove every reminder I had of Mifuyu so that I could go on living in contentment, without painful memories of the past? 

That I didn't know for sure. __

After a few moments of reconsideration, Aya stood up and headed for the door. Then he paused and turned to me. The corners of his mouth tugged a tiny bit. He was, at least…well, _smiling, if it was even counted as a smile. It was unforeseen, yes, but it was good that he finally was. I could tell that he had given my words some thought._

He nodded at me, the expression on his face that was beyond description still not fading. "Let's go."


	8. For the Sake of Tearful Days

PART SEVEN For the Sake of Tearful Days Botan 

_Ow!!! I opened my eyes and found myself lying on the floor, to my aching body's dismay. I had just fallen from my bed in my sleep._

I struggled to straighten up and checked the clock. _9:45._

I yawned and staggered to the bathroom. I blinked at the warm water of the shower, pondering about last night's events.

It was really unbelievable, the way Kurama had shown some signs of affection towards me, too. The way he had offered me his coat; the way he had said my name with a "chan" for the first time; the way he had tucked my hair behind my ear; the way he had cupped my cheek…

And the way our lips had almost met in a kiss.

Just thinking about how his emerald eyes sparkled in the moonlight when he was just about to kiss me made me shiver in delight.

But…why _had he withdrawn too soon? Why had he hesitated? Was there something wrong with me? Or was it simply because…he had thought that I wasn't right for him?_

I turned the shower knob off and put on my bathrobe in depression. Maybe he didn't like me after all.

I picked up a brush and started to brush down my hair. I stared at my reflection in the mirror. 

Yes, I was nothing compared to him. Maybe I wasn't good enough. Maybe I didn't deserve someone like him. Maybe I was---

There was a faint knock on the door. "Botan-san?"

I almost jumped back in surprise. "K-Kurama-kun? What is it?"

"I'm on my way to the Urameshi ramen shop; Yusuke had asked me to come over. I don't exactly know the reason why, but, would you like to come, too?"

I smiled to myself. He was still inviting me!

"Hai, Kurama, I'm coming. Please just give me a moment to get ready."

"Okay; I'll wait for you out here."

_Yes!!! I jumped up in front of my cabinet to find a nice outfit._

_Hmmm…I scanned my clothes._

_Nope, too formal._

_Not this, too bright._

_Not this one either, too thick._

_Hmmm… I brought out the outfit that Keiko once gave me. A simple, black dress with a white, long-sleeved overcoat. It was too simple, but I figured that the place I was heading for __was just a simple place; it wasn't like I was heading for a party or anything, so I quickly put it on and dashed out the door. I didn't want Kurama to wait too long._

"Let's go, Kurama-kun!" I beamed at him.

He paused to look at me. He just blinked, and didn't budge.

My eyes widened. _Oh right, my ponytail!!!_

"Oh, excuse me, I forgot my ribbon…" I turned to go back, but he took my arm and stopped me.

"No, wait, you don't have to. You look so much better with your hair loose like that," he smiled at me.

I stared back at him in shock. _I…I do?_

He chuckled. "Let's go."

I nodded and smiled, following him to the "elevators" again. _He had just given me a compliment!!!_

***

"_Yusuke no baka!!! Look at what you've done!!!" Keiko's voice boomed from inside the shop. _

Kurama and I winced. We were just about to enter when Keiko screamed.

Kurama shook his head. "There they go again," he said.

I nodded. He opened the door to the shop and I peered inside.

Yusuke was covering his head with his hands and he was muttering "Sumimasen, Keiko" over and over again. Keiko was glaring at him, a pot on her hand.

Then finally, Keiko sighed when she saw us enter. "Don't you _ever mess up again!" she said to Yusuke as he let out a long, relieved sigh. Keiko walked towards us. _

"Botan, could you _please keep Yusuke away from the kitchen? He just keeps messing up and things keep getting worse when __he's around! I just can't __stand his clumsiness! Kudasai?" Keiko said exasperatedly._

I nodded. "Sure."

She smiled. "Oh _thank you so much!!!" then she turned to Kurama. "Kurama-san, come this way, I have to show you something…" she led him to the back of the counter._

I walked over to Yusuke, who was taking deep breaths, ever so thankful that Keiko didn't start throwing things at him again.

I smirked at him. "So what did you do now?"

He shook me by the shoulders. "Botan-chan, you have _got to help me!!! Keiko's been driving me nuts!!! Every little thing that I say or do is always scold here, scold there…help me, Botan-san!!! Onegai? Onegai? " he said desparately._

I rolled my eyes. "Yuu-kun, that's because every little thing you say or do is wrong!"

"Botan, I'm _serious!!! I get an earful every now and then!" Yusuke sighed._

I shook my head. Then I just had a brainstorm. If I could help fix things, Keiko would be more grateful, wouldn't she? "Alright, let's go fix things up," I grinned mischievously, pulling him into the kitchen.

Kurama 

"Arigato gozaimasu, Kurama-kun!!! Thank you thank you thank you…" Keiko smiled after I fixed the problem with their cash register.

I just smiled at her. I glanced back at the door of the kitchen. I knew Keiko told Botan to keep Yusuke out of the kitchen, but just a while ago she pulled Yusuke _into the kitchen. I couldn't help but wonder what she was doing. And I knew it was ridiculous, but, somehow I felt kind of…um…how do I put it…I felt kind of…__jealous, all of a sudden. I knew I shouldn't be, but, I wished that I was there, too so that I could know what was happening._

Hey, why was I jealous, anyway? There wasn't any point in being, ne?

I sighed. Who was I kidding? I liked Botan. A lot. Hai. A _lot._

Just then, Botan popped out of the kitchen, a small bucket in hand. She was heading for the door.

"Chotto matte, Botan-chan…where are you going?" I asked just before she was about to exit.

She turned towards me and smiled. "I'm just going to get some ice at the shop next door. Don't worry; I won't be long," and she dashed out the door.

I tried to convince myself not to worry so much; it was only nearby. And I was just about to believe myself when I heard her scream outside.

"What was that?" Keiko's eyes widened.

I rushed out the store. "Botan!!!"

But I was a minute too late.

She was gone, the bucket on the sidewalk floor.

Botan 

It was soft. I was lying on something soft…

Slowly I opened my eyes. My vision was still a little bit blurred, but I could make out two guys peering at me, one with a cap on backwards.

I groaned involuntarily, and the other guy grinned. "Hey, Yoji!!!" he said, "Get over here! Your 'pretty babe' finally regained consciousness!"

"Hey really?" a guy with long, blond hair walked over, grinning.

I blinked, willing my vision to get clearer. But it wasn't of much help.

"Hey, Ken-kun," the guy with the cap said to the one beside him. "She seems to have a very hard time to see us clearly. What did you do to her anyway?"

"Nani? I didn't do anything to her!" Ken said.

I blinked once more. At last, my vision cleared. And I realized that I was in bed. Three guys were looking at me, and according to what I've heard, the one with short brown hair was Ken, and the other guy with glasses on was named Yoji. Another guy with red hair was leaning against the wall, a frown on his face, and a sword in hand. He reminded me a lot of Hiei, only, this guy was much taller.

"Can you talk?" Ken asked.

It was only then did I find my voice. "Who…who are you? W-where am I?"

"Sorry if we had to knock you unconscious. We just didn't want you to scream too much," the guy with a cap on said.

"Um…" I bit my lip.

"Hey, you're really cute," Yoji winked at me.

"Knock it off, Yoji," Ken turned to the guy with a cap. "Omi, get to the point, will you?"

_So this guy's name is Omi…_

He cleared his throat. "Okay, miss. We just want to know if you happen to know something called the Ruffian's Sphere."

_The Ruffian's Sphere! Is that what they're after? But how did they know that I come from Reikai, too?_

"And, we _do want you to be as honest as possible," Ken remarked, inspecting a glove with claws on it. I gulped. He was already threatening me…_

_If I say that I don't, will they kill me then? _

_Hey, maybe I could just revert to my invisible form!_

_But… since they know that I'm from Reikai…then they must know about that ability, too…_

_Oh great, what am I supposed to do? The Ruffian's Sphere is one of the Reikai treasures! I can't simply just give away information about it…_

_Do I have any other option?_

"Well…I guess… yes…yes I do…" I replied reluctantly.

"You _do?!? " Yoji asked in surprise._

"Um…I---" I gasped. The red-haired guy's katana was pointed directly at my throat. I could feel the cold steel against my skin; luckily the blade wasn't touching me yet…

"Show it to us, or else," he said lowly.

"Hey, watch where you're pointing that thing, Aya!" Yoji reprimanded him.

Aya glared at him, but he slowly withdrew his katana.

"So can you give us some information about it?" Omi prompted.

"The…the Ruffian's Sphere is a treasure of the spirit world…and I can't bring it to you because…i-it's a pretty long way from here…" I said.

"We _need it, lady, so bring it to us, __now," Aya said. ___

"H-hai, let me contact the Reikai prince first," I said.

Ken shrugged. "Sure, do what you will."

I sat up and took the communicator out of my pocket. It was a good thing I always brought it with me.

"Koenma-sama?" I said into it as soon as his face appeared.

"What is it now, Botan? I'm really very busy right now," he grumbled.

Yoji peered over my shoulder at the communicator screen. "_That's the Reikai __prince?!?" he snickered. "You gotta be kidding me!"_

Koenma-sama frowned. "Who was that, Botan?"

"Uh…um…" I began. Ken and Omi had peered at Koenma, too, and were now at a laughing fit with Yoji.

"These guys have me hostage…and they want the Ruffian's Sphere in exchange, Koenma-sama," I told him.

"_Nani?!?" he roared, his pacifier almost falling down. "Where's Yusuke and the others?!?"_

"They don't know I'm here, Koenma-sama," I said hesitantly, afraid the he'll get really mad at me this time.

"Aw, shoot!!!" he sighed and paused to think. For a moment, I was afraid that he might decide not to pay the price to teach me a lesson.

Finally, he looked back at me angrily. "Alright, alright, I'll send another ferry girl to deliver it to the direction of your chi," he said.

I smiled at him. "Arigato, Koenma-sama!"

He snorted. "I'll have the Reikai Tantei deal with this later! You better learn from this, Botan!" and he shut the monitor off.

"Well? What did the little squirt say?" Ken asked, still grinning, just recovering from laughing so hard.

I nodded in depression. They began cheering and giving each other high fives.

I sighed. I was dead meat. Responsible for the loss of a Reikai treasure. Enma-sama will surely punish me severely…


	9. That Forever Goodbyes Be Bade

PART EIGHT That Forever Goodbyes Be Bade Kurama 

_Darn! Where had they taken her? I stopped running. The four guys that I had caught a glimpse of before Botan had disappeared were gone, and there was no sign of Botan, either._

_Guess I'll have to sense her chi, then…_

"It's been a long time, ne, Kurama?"

_Nani?!? I turned around. I __recognized that voice__…and the chi was especially familiar…_

"Have you forgotten, Kurama?" he stepped out of the trees.

My eyes widened in alarm. "Tokiya…" I narrowed my eyes at him.

"Hn, thought you didn't remember all the pain that you've caused me when we were still little," he smirked. "You haven't changed, Kurama."

"I'll say; you're still as annoying as ever," I snapped.

"Oh?" he said sarcastically. "Probably the reason why you loved making me suffer?"

"Tokiya, I never made you suffer. You were the one who made me do that. You asked for all of it and---"

"_Uso!!! You've made my life miserable ever since you came, Kurama! You did everything you could just to piss me off! And I couldn't make you pay…since oneesan liked you! She always told me not to do you any harm while __you continuously did to me!!!" he stepped closer, drawing his Ensui. "Now, she's gone…and I've finally found you…it's time to pay, Kurama!!!"_

I gave him an angry smile. "You're still as stubborn as ever, Tokiya. You don't want to listen to me. Fine then, we'll have it _your way! Rose whip!!!"_

He sneered. "_Now you're talking!" He jumped up, lunging his sword towards me._

I smiled to myself. _As you wish, Tokiya, I thought, charging for him, too. __As you wish._

Botan 

Hinageshi had come minutes ago, flying on her oar, carrying the Ruffian's Sphere. And now, Ken was holding it in his hand, turning it around, inspecting.

"Hey, Omi, are you sure this is the one we're supposed to be after?" he asked the younger man, cocking an eyebrow.

"I've told you before, haven't I? This is it," he assured him.

Ken looked back at him, still not convinced.

"Say, Botan-chan, are you free tonight or something?" Yoji asked.

"Uh…um…you see, I---"

"You've given us the orb; you're free to go," Aya said simply.

"Oh…h-hai…I should go now…" I said. Yoji gave Aya a disappointed glare.

"Hey…hey, guys, isn't that…Tokiya-kun over there?" Omi pointed outside the window.

"_What?!?" Yoji turned his gaze away from me and walked towards the window, where Omi was standing._

Ken ran over there as well. "Who's that guy he's fighting with?"

_Tokiya-kun? Fighting?_

I got out of the bed, and peered over. I gasped at what I saw.

It was Tokiya, alright, and he was fighting with…with…Kurama!!! But… why?

I ran out of the room, and dashed to them both, ignoring Ken's warning not to do so. 

I had to stop this. I had to.

Tokiya 

I groaned and landed back on the ground, panting. I clutched my left arm again, wincing in pain. I already had caused him a lot of injuries, but unfortunately, he had caused me a lot, too.

Kurama leaped away from me and leaned back against a tree, panting as well. He was smiling in content at me, and I didn't have a single clue why.

_Ugh, another shock of pain ran up my left arm. __Damn it, what's wrong with my arm?!? It had been aching since the very beginning of the battle._

I glanced back at Kurama. He was grinning now, narrowing his eyes at me in satisfaction.

_Has he lost his mind? "There's nothing funny about this, Kurama," I said in between pants._

"Aaargh," I winced and glanced at my arm. There was not a single wound on it, but there was some sort of mark on it, like a small dot. 

_Why is the stupid thing hurting so much?!?_

It was then that he began to laugh. He raised his hand, pointing at my arm.

"I've planted… a seed that's slowly taking… all your energy and blood, Tokiya. You were… such in a hurry to…to kill me that you didn't notice it… being put… on you…" he said.

_Nani?!? Another wave of pain shot up my arm, this time, affecting my body, too. __Damn!!! It did hurt a lot…_

I fell on my knees, sensing all my energy slowly being taken away. My body began to shiver, and another wave of pain shot up my body.

"_K-kuso_…Kurama…what have you…done…"

He grinned again. "Give it up, Mikagami."

_Give it up? Should I just… give it up? All the pain in my childhood…my miserable life with him as a cousin…and he expects me to just give it all up?_

"You've used up all your energy, and my seed's taking its remnants away. It's useless, Tokiya. Give it up," he continued.

_No…I won't give it up…_

"Kurama!!! Tokiya!!! What are you both _doing? Please stop this now!" Botan appeared to us, pleading._

"Botan?" Kurama staggered.

"Kurama!" she ran to him, inspecting his injuries.

_Botan…and…Kurama? Wha…what…why…_

The particular ache in my heart added to the pain my whole body was experiencing. I could feel my strength slowly slipping away.

_No…no…not now…I have…a battle…to win…Kurama…damn you…_

I groaned again in my attempt to stand up. _But the pain's too strong…_

Soon, some parts of my body began to feel numb. _Ugh, __iie…_

A single tear escaped my eye, not quite sure whether it was because of the extreme pain or…because of Botan…

_Iie… "I…I can't…lose…" I struggled to stand up, though excruciating it may be._

I lifted the Ensui. "Kurama…it's not over yet…"

Botan looked at me, begging me to stop. "Tokiya, what are you doing? Please stop this! Kudasai!"

_Botan, you're just like my sister, never wanting me to fight…but I'm not going to listen…anymore…_

"Gather from all the places of great icicle…" I kept the Ensui in place._ This is it…all my remaining energy…Ensui…please don't fail me now… "Tsurara Hebi!!!" and with my last ounce of strength, I summoned the icicle snake, which came charging towards Kurama._

"What the---?" he failed to dodge it, and I watched in content as he fell down to the ground, his blood scattering over the place, and my own blood pouring out because of the forceful attempt to release my remaining energy.

Finally, my knees gave way, and I collapsed to the ground, to my satisfaction.

_At last…after all these years…I finally…_

_Beat…_

_Him…_

And with that, my eyes shut close, and everything went pitch black.


	10. Kiss From a Rose

PART NINE Kiss From a Rose Kurama 

It was soft, smooth, and warm. It felt good, and it _tasted good. What was it? What was this that was touching my lips?_

I lifted my eyelids open, and to my surprise, I came face to face with Botan's pretty face, her lips on mine.

_What the heck…?_

Her eyes were closed, and she wasn't moving, despite the fact that I was already awake. Was she…was she sleeping?

I gazed at her features, enjoying the very moment, because I knew, that if she awoke, everything would slip away.

Finally, her eyes slowly opened, and upon realizing that I was awake, she leaped miles away from me, her whole face burning.

"Oh…uh…um…K-Kurama-san…you're…you're awake! I was just…um…I was…uh…" she stammered.

I just smiled at her, because by the look on her face I knew that she had been watching me since I fell unconscious. "There's nothing to worry about, Botan," I assured her. "Arigato."

She blushed even more and touched her lips. 

I looked down at my wounds. They still hurt a bit, but they weren't as bad as before. She had used her chi to heal some of my wounds…

I looked back at her. "So, was kissing part of the medication?"

"Uh…um…I can explain the last part…" her face burned.

I smiled at her and leaned closer. "There's no need for explanations, Botan-chan."

She looked at me, her eyes sparkling.

I smiled. Her smile, her eyes, her face…there was no hesitating now.            

_Finally…_

I bent down and brushed her lips against mine, continuing what she had started.

Tokiya 

I slowly opened my eyes, looking around. It was dark, and only the moonlight coming from the window was giving the room some shine. I didn't know where I was, and my body was still sore. 

Was I still alive? Was that possible?

My questions were answered when something warm and moist dropped down my hand. I glanced at it, and saw that someone was sitting on the chair beside the bed I was lying on, her head crouched on the cushion beside me, asleep. It was Fuuko, and she had my hand to her cheek, clutching it like she'd never let go. But what was that thing that dropped down?

I looked closer. It was a tear. A tear fell down my hand. She had been crying. Crying in her sleep. I couldn't believe it.

My hand trembling, I slowly withdrew my hand from her cheek. At this, her eyes flew open, still watery, and she looked at me. Her eyes softened, and her smile widened.

"Mi-chan…" she whispered, her eyes releasing tears again. "Mi-chan, you're…" she smiled and leaped towards me, wrapping my waist in a hug. "You're finally awake!" she cried.

I managed to sit up, frowning down at her. Just because of the fact that _she'd hugged me once during the Uroubatousatsoujin, __doesn't mean she could go hugging me any time she wanted now. I__ knew__ I certainly didn't want that. "Fuuko--"_

"I've been waiting for _so long…I thought you'd never wake up! You got me so worried…" she said, her words muffled. I was taken aback by her concern and I cocked my eyebrow. Why was she so anxious all of a sudden? It wasn't like I had become her best friend overnight._

"You were watching me… all the time I was asleep?" I asked almost inaudibly, my voice betraying me.

She nodded, tears streaming down her cheeks. I couldn't help but feel guilty. No matter how annoying she sometimes could be, I still never wanted to see her cry. Especially for me. 

I sighed and tried to wipe her tears away. 

"Please don't cry, Fuuko…I'm alright now…" If she'd been kind to me, then the least I could do was try to be polite.

She smiled again, trying to cease her tears from rolling down. She tightened her hold on me, and all I could do was not to resist, willing to assure her that I was okay. 

_So that_ she'd actually consider letting me _go_. I mean, was it a death grip or what? 

"You've been sleeping for so many hours now! I thought your eyes were never going to open anymore…never going to look at me…" she went on.

"S-sonna…" I managed to speak. _I had been asleep for hours?_

"How did you know…about what happened to me?" I asked her.

"Well," she sniffed and managed to stop sobbing at least. "It was when I was on my way to see you, and all I saw was your body lying almost…_lifeless on the ground…I mean, I got scared, you know? I tried to wake you up but, it didn't work, your eyes were kept shut, and for a moment I thought you were…" she paused._

I tilted my brow, motioning for her to go on. 

"So I called for Domon and the others, and they took you here…Yanagi tried to heal you but…you still weren't budging…she only managed to lessen your wounds…"  She cleared her throat. "I'm sorry I couldn't do anything to help you out…I was really regretting that I didn't have any healing abilities like Yanagi did…"

I blinked, stunned. "…"

"They were watching you here with me for hours, but then it started to get late, and they decided to go home…I stayed watch, though, until this time…because I didn't want to accept the fact that you might not wake up anymore…" Her lips were quivering again, but she shook her head and swallowed. She was having a pretty hard time trying to stop crying, that much was obvious. But I could see her point. I mean, if she burst out bawling, it'd ruin the tough-girl image she'd been trying to show everyone. Not like there was anyone else in the room, but I knew she wouldn't trust me to keep quiet about it. I _could _spill. If I felt like it, that is. 

She beamed up at me and tried to keep cheerful. "But you did, and it paid to stay with you through the night."__

If she had really wanted to make me feel better, the least she could do was let me go. Didn't she notice that my stomach was being squished? She didn't actually have the gentlest touch in the world. 

But of course, I couldn't say that. I could never say that. It was probably because I got carried away by her sudden concern, or maybe it was just that I was still a little drowsy. But these words came tumbling out of my mouth, "…I appreciate the effort, Fuuko…I actually feel much better just knowing that you were beside me all the—"

Her eyes widened. 

I winced upon realizing what I had said.

_Ugh, damn it…_

I pushed her gently away from me and looked out the window. "I'm alright now…thanks for watching over me." I said simply, trying to sound cold and a little considerate at the same time.

She didn't respond. She didn't even budge. I cast a sideways glance at her, and saw that she was looking at me in a weird way. She'd never given me that look before…crap, what was she up to?

I turned to look at her. "You better go home and get some sleep, too. Domon would get really worried if you started getting eye bags." 

No reaction.

"You might not get to use your Fuujin in full extent if you get too tired."

Still no reaction.

I sighed impatiently. "Look, Fuuko, I—"

I stopped. Her hand had brushed against my cheek.

_Nani? My eyes widened, taken aback by her response._

"Fuuko…I told you, I'm _fine now," I said, in my effort to make her withdraw her hand, stressing the word __fine and silently telling her to just leave me alone._

But she didn't. She kept it there, and she was looking at me like she was debating on something she wanted to say. "…Tokiya…I…" She trailed off and looked away. "I…"

"…" My eyes softened at the slightly different tone of her voice, and my skin tingled all of a sudden, as if just realizing that her hand was on my cheek. I was too confused to even think about the reason why she decided to call me by my real name for once. All I could think of was how warm her hand felt…damn, what was happening to me?

She gave me that uncertain look again, and she slowly leaned closer. It was then that I understood why I wasn't being myself every time she was near. It was her eyes; her eyes that brought out the reflection of her peaceful soul, toying with mine, as if wanting to release it from inside. She had been longing to see right through me, to see the real me. Behind the cold Mikagami Tokiya. That was why she wanted me to tell her how I felt. What I was hiding. Who I really was. But why did she want to go through all the trouble just to see that?

She was too close…my stomach was churning, and I was finding it hard to look her in the eye. The tension was too much. The thought that the gap between us was too small sent shivers through my skin. 

I have never been this close to her before…funny…it feels…kind of… 

I almost whacked myself in the head. Even my mind was playing tricks with me.

I took her hand and put it down. "Fuuko, what are you---"

I was silenced by the caress of her lips on mine. I was pushed against the wall. Her eyes were shut close, but heck was mine wide _open. What the heck did she think she was __doing?!? Couldn't she get the __picture???_

I couldn't breathe. The air had suddenly become too thick. And just the main fact that a girl like Fuuko, one of my old teammates and my _friend, was…well…darn word… __kissing me, left me too captivated to move._

I began to feel a little lightheaded, and my once still heartbeat started picking up speed. My mind was spinning. I could feel myself getting hot.  

_Damn this woman…_

_Damn her…_

There was no telling when she'd stop, but I had to make sure she did. It didn't seem right to push her away. Who knew why? _I certainly didn't. Then I remembered that girls hated guys who were too forward. _

So I responded. And to my surprise, she didn't move away. And to my greater surprise, _I didn't either. Kissing her just felt right. So right…_

I closed my eyes and unknowingly pulled her closer. She didn't seem to react negatively, so I deepened the kiss. And she deepened hers.

The silence stretched on. It was almost deafening. I put my hands on her hips and she put her arms around my neck. 

Silence.

It was only broken by the groan of pleasure that escaped from her lips.

And passing a few more minutes, it ended soon enough. We pulled away. She looked back at me, stunned. My own voice had betrayed me, too.        

And unexpectedly, instead of thinking, "_what have I done", or "__keep out of Domon's way", I thought, __"man, she sure can kiss well". Because, heck, I liked it. I __loved every second of it. And damn it, I did _not_ have a single clue why._

At last, I found my voice. "Fuuko, sumimasen, I didn't mean---"

She placed her finger over my lips, telling me to stop. "I… like you a lot, Tokiya. I always have. A lot of people don't see me as the kind of girl who would ever fall for anyone…and believe me, I thought that's how I am, too, but then…it's you…" she locked her gaze on mine, though difficult it may be for her. "I never did get around to telling you all of this. I thought that if I did you wouldn't speak to me like you'd used to or something, because…I never thought you'd feel the same way I feel about you," she said softly. 

"You've always been different from Hanabishi and the others. They were really outgoing and wild. _You were always too quiet, too distant, and I have to admit that at first I didn't think I'd be able to get along well with you. At least that's what everyone thought. But the more we went on with our matches, the more I felt attached to you, and…when I discovered the other side of your personality…the sweet and sensible side…I knew…you weren't whom everyone thought you were. You're not just some silent loner who never wants to socialize with other people. You're not like that at all. There's a reason behind your sadness, and I understood that. I understood that once you get past the cold outer personality, there's something different inside. You're a wonderful person, Tokiya. You're always concerned about your friends although you might not show it. Another guy is behind all your loneliness. There's someone behind your frown, behind your wistful eyes, your sharp words…You have a good heart. You might not show it, but I know you do. That's what I like about you so much…" she whispered._

I was wordless once more at the revelation. I _had revealed much, too, myself. Just by responding to that kiss. It was probably why she was straight enough to tell me. But…did __I like her, too? More than just being a friend? _

She looked away, her face burning, and began to straighten up. "G-gomen ne, Mi-chan...you should just get some rest. Sorry for involving you in this," she started to hop out of the bed, her voice quivering in embarrassment.

"Fuuko, m-matte," I grabbed hold of her hand and pulled her back. She stared back at me, puzzled.__

_I have to know. I have to make sure. Just one more…time…_

I pulled her close and gave her another kiss, this time, passionately, drowning at the unspeakable contentment the very moment was granting me. I could feel her lips curve into a satisfied smile, as she wrapped her arms around my neck and let me kiss her.

I had never expected to find such happiness in someone I once knew as just a friend. As a comrade, as someone fighting by my side with just the same goal and path that life offered us. As just an ordinary schoolmate in the university we both shared.

But now, she was nothing near an ordinary girl. Nothing at all.

She was Fuuko, a wind goddess that had taken everything I had, my heart and even my own soul, away. 

She was more than a friend. Much, much more than just a friend.

I finally knew that.

All in just a kiss.


	11. Reminisce a While

**PART TEN**

Reminisce a While Ken 

"Do you think Tokiya-kun was alright?" Omi asked me the next morning at the Koneko no Sumu Ie.

"Yeah, that guy never returned to the apartment last night. He missed all the thrills," Yoji approached us, successfully escaping a blond-haired sophomore with super sticking magnet ability.

I shrugged. "All I know is that he's had enough thrills with that red-haired guy to last him ten missions. And when I tried to approach him a few minutes after he fell, Fuuko and some other guys with a gorilla wearing a nose ring were fussing all over him. I figured best not to stick my nose where I wasn't wanted."

Omi cocked an eyebrow. "Yeah, but--"

"Tokiya's too injured to work. Don't keep your hopes up," Aya suddenly approached him, handing him a pot of roses.

I turned to look at Aya, just as he walked back to the window and stared outside. _Again._

Omi took the pot to a corner of the shop.

"Well, whatever's up with that kid, he'd better show up. I'm still waiting up for him, 'coz man am I beat! I need a replacement for a while," Yoji sighed.

I nodded. "Not to mention these girls actually lessen when he's around since some of them run to _him," I remarked, smirking._

He grinned. "Yep, yep," and he returned to his work. I looked out the door. I knew Tokiya was strong, but I had to admit that he had quite a battle yesterday. _Hopefully, that kid'll recover soon._

Tokiya 

I tugged on my shirt, trudging to the flower shop. I wasn't heading for that place to work. My body was too exhausted to handle another whole day of annoying hordes of girls. I was heading there because of what Fuuko had told me when I woke up this morning with her breakfast.

Her eyes were pleading; I couldn't refuse. And after all, I knew that what she had wanted was for the best. Both for team Hokage _and the Weiß Kreuz._

She had given me her cutest smile, batted her eyelashes, and asked me to re-join the Hokage.

I had hesitated, and before I could have said no, she had pulled my collar and kissed me. I knew it was bribery or something like that, but I couldn't do anything about it. It worked. It sure damn worked. 

No wonder Domon and Fujimaru were all over her from the beginning. She was too manipulating.

I rounded the corner, and I could almost see the shop. I never really wanted to leave Weiß. I never really thought of returning to Hokage. It was all just for Fuuko.

I paused in front of the shop and looked up at the sign. I sighed.

_Here we go._

Aya 

I cursed silently; dissatisfied at the amount of money I had received. Sometimes, you just had to kill more people.

Tokiya had unexpectedly entered the shop five minutes ago. Omi and the other two approached him at once, checking to see if he was alright or something. I didn't really care less about that. Much as a little part of me wanted to know, too, I couldn't bring myself to really care.

What was the point of asking him if he was okay? He was there. He was in pretty good shape. He came. He made it. Weren't those enough to answer that meaningless question?

I looked back outside. The weather had gotten pretty colder, and people outside were wrapped in their coats, rubbing their arms in their efforts to keep themselves warm. Yes, it was still early in the morning, but the sky was an undesirable shade of gray. It would pretty much rain soon.

~*~

"Listen, uh, there's something you guys need to know," Tokiya was telling the others in the background.

"What's that supposed to be?" Ken asked.

~*~

_What the heck._

I just wanted to get my katana at the throats of more people tonight. More assassination meant more cash.    

Then I would be able to pay that crappy hospital bill.

Aya-chan would snap out of it all.

She'd be able to live a normal life again.

I clenched my fist at the thought of oneechan.

_I should have gotten out of the debris much earlier._

_I should not have fallen unconscious. _

_I should have stayed at her side before the explosion._

_I should have knocked her out of the car's way.      _

_I should have been the one in a coma instead of her._

_I should have._

Damn all the 'should haves'. They don't change anything.

Damn that Taketori. I'd kill that wretched excuse for a pathetic human being.

Only then would my soul be satisfied.

~*~

"Fuuko had talked to me about it."

"What did she say?"

"Yeah, spill it out already, Tokiya."

~*~

_Would your soul be satisfied? _

I blinked, letting my thoughts decide.

_No, it wouldn't. And neither would your sister's._

_Don't be silly. Yes, it would. It's all you've ever desired for since the accident._

_It may be what you desire, but not what your oneechan would._

_Are you kidding? She'd actually be happy you wiped out the blasted freak._

_Revenge?_

_You bet._

_No. Just like Tokiya had said the other night. It wouldn't be what your sister would like._

_But wouldn't it be awesome to watch Taketori suffer more than you and your sister did?_

_No, it wouldn't. It wouldn't mean anything. _

_Yes, it would! It would mean that the freak had finally paid._

_What meaning would there be in making him pay?_

_That way he would get a taste of his own medicine._

_Then what?_

_Then you and Aya-chan would finally be happy._

_Just why would Aya-chan be happy?_

_The idiot who caused pain to her family would be dead!_

_She wouldn't want anyone to be dead, as much as possible._

_Maybe not any ordinary person, but she'd want Taketori to be!_

_She'd despise it if she learned that you paid her bill by assassination._

I rubbed my forehead, confused. Why had I ever talked to Tokiya that night? If I hadn't then my mind wouldn't be having second thoughts.

~*~

"She…she wants me to return to Hokage," Tokiya continued to the others.

"Nani?!?"

"No way."

~*~

_Oneechan…_

_It wasn't her fault…it never was. Why did she have to suffer? Why did she have to get involved? She never did anything wrong. It had just been her birthday…and she was just innocently coming home from the carnival…_

I shut my eyes close. _It just wasn't fair…it made no sense…_

_Then again, neither would avenging her._

_Damn._

_Damn._

_~*~_

"It's for the best. Hokage needs five members; and Weiß Kreuz is better off with four," Tokiya reasoned.

"Yeah, well, we _do manage pretty well with only four guys, but, five's better, right?"_

"Admit it, Yoji. It's the Dark Water you want, that's all."

"No, no. We're not after the orb anymore. It wasn't what we were supposed to get anyway in the first place. We've found what we were looking for, and it definitely isn't the one you possess."

"So desu ka…well, then…I really have to leave."

"Why does Fuuko's words affect you too much, anyway, Mikagami?"

"Um…uh…nothing. I just had to grant a lady's request."

"Yeah, right."

"…"

"No witty comeback, Tokiya?"

"…"

"Tokiya…?"

"Nevermind. Look, I really have to go. See you."

"That's okay, man. Thanks for all your help anyways. Sorry we had to bother you about that psychic device in the first place."

"Yeah, well…"

" 'Kay, we'll see you around."

"Don't forget to bring Fuuko here once in a while!"

"Put a sock in it, Yoji-kun."

"I'm kidding! I'm kidding! Don't get all grouchy again, alright?"

~*~

The sound of the chimes brought me out of my reverie. 

"Hey, Aya-kun, Tokiya just said he'd be comin' back to his old team," Omi looked at me.

I ignored him and walked over to Tokiya.

He paused at the doorway, cocking his brow at me.

I stopped in front of him. Neither of us said anything for a while. But I figured it was best to tell him what I had wanted to say before something happened again.

"Tokiya," I looked at him and thought over all the things he had made me realize about Aya-chan. Much as I wanted to deny it, he was right. 

He was damn right. 

"Thanks, kid."


	12. Reflections of the Wind

PART ELEVEN Reflections of the Wind Tokiya 

I turned on the next block, my hands in my pockets, knowing that my tracks would lead me back to the park. I didn't mind; I wanted some time to think. About the consequences of everything I had done. Quitting Hokage, joining Weiß, returning to Hokage again, and…and…

My mind went over the events that took place the night before. I bit back a small smile.

_Hmm, I wonder how Domon would react..._

I smirked, picturing the stupid idiot crying his heart out. It wouldn't be a nice scene, and no matter how big a bother he was, I didn't want him to get too depressed, demo…

_Sorry Domon, but I'm not going to give Fuuko away to you. No matter what._

I was suddenly delighted even more that Fuuko felt the same way from the beginning. Because if she didn't, then there'd still be a tiny bit of a chance that some other guy would win her heart.

_Kirisawa Fuuko…I never expected everything to turn out like this. But I'm glad it did._

"_Mi-chan!!!"_

Such familiarity of the voice.

"Mi-chan!" Fuuko came running to me, panting a bit, a wide smile on her face.

I turned to her, my day lighting up despite the literally dark sky. "Nandeska, Fuuko-chan?"

"I was just wondering if you have…you know," she said.

I nodded and shrugged. What can I say, I couldn't resist.

She smiled at me victoriously. "Once again, Kirisawa Fuuko has triumphed over Mikagami Tokiya, not only had she made him apologize before, but this time, she had successfully made him obey an order!!!" she giggled.

I didn't tell her to shut up like I had done before. Instead I just smiled at her like I hadn't ever since oneechan's tragedy. She stopped laughing and gave me a genuine smile. 

"Mmm, that's more like it. You should do that more often," she cooed, tracing my lips.

I bent down to kiss her again, but she held her finger up my lips and chuckled.

"Before we get to that, I want to let you know that I didn't come here alone," she said, still smiling.

I straightened up and looked at her questioningly.

She giggled again and asked me to close my eyes.

"_What?" _

"Just close them, Mi-chan. I have to show you something," she grinned mischievously.

I knew she was up to something again, but I did what I was told anyway.

I could feel myself being pulled somewhere, and moments later; she stopped.

"Okay, Mi-chan!"

I opened my eyes and came face to face with Yanagi.

"Y-Yanagi-san! Um, shibaraku desu ne," I said. She smiled.

I stood there, again pondering on how much Mifuyu looked just like her. But she had Recca now.

And speaking of Recca…

"Where's your shinobi?" I asked her.

She and Fuuko sighed at the same time. Fuuko pointed an irritated finger at something lying against a tree. My gaze followed the direction of her finger. And there was Recca, snoring beneath the tree's shade.

I looked at her, crossing my arms. "Ne, Fuuko-chan, what's the deal?"

She grinned. "The deal is, since you're coming back without him knowing it yet, you both should get along."

"No way."

"And that's what Yanagi and I cooked up today! She brought Hanabishi here just for you!" she beamed.

"I don't---"

"Aw, c'mon, Mi-_chan, __kudasai???" she batted her eyelashes again, leaning closer._

I took a step back, avoiding what had happened this morning. I didn't want to kiss her in front of Yanagi. Besides, no one knew about us, yet; _that I was sure of._

"Uh…um…okay, okay. I'll try to get along with the dim-wit nuisance," I shoved my hands into my pockets.

"Yatta! That's my Mi-chan!" she clung to my arm and squeezed it.

Yanagi was staring at us, confusion popping out of her eyes.

"Uh…Fuuko---"

"Okay, Yanagi-chan, wake him up! We need to give Mi-chan's words a test to see if he's going to keep it!" she let me go just in time, and walked over to where Recca was dozing off.

Yanagi nodded and crouched over Hanabishi to poke him.

Obviously, it didn't work.

Fuuko made a face. "That's not how to do it; you have to give him _this," she held her breath, walked closer to Recca's ear, and screamed, "__Get up Hanabishi, you stupid idiot, Domon's back and he just said he's out to kill you!!!"_

Sure enough, Hanabishi jumped up and called out Madoka automatically, and once inside the barrier, he rubbed his eyes and clutched his ear, still staggering a bit.

He looked left and right, his eyelids still heavy. "D-Domon…is…here, w-where…where, what…" he yawned.

"Snap out of it, Hanabishi!!! I was just kidding!!!" Fuuko giggled.

Finally, his eyes came to focus and he frowned as realization dawned on him. The psychic barrier disappeared, and he glared at Fuuko.

"Aw, what the heck do you think you're doing?!?" then he looked around and saw me. "N-nani?!? Mikagami?" he glared at me. "What are _you doing here?"_

So how was I supposed to get along with this pain in the neck again?

"Is that a proper way to greet someone you want to get along with?" I smirked at him.

"Huh??? What the heck are you saying? Who ever told you that I wanted to make peace with a stubborn mule like you?" the pest smirked back.

I took a challenging step closer. "Well, I---"

"Mi-chan, c'mon! Stop it already! I thought you promised me that you'd get along with him?" Fuuko tugged at my shirt.

I sighed and stepped back. "Wakatta. So tell me what to do."

Hanabishi stared at me, his jaw dropping. "_What??? Am I hearing this right? Hey…hey Fuuko, since when did Tokiya ever give in to your demands without any kind of resistance at all?!?"_

She took my arm again and grinned at him. "Well, let's just say that I've got Mi-chan under my control now!"

"B-but…when…how…why---?" he stammered.

"Recca-kun, please…get along with Mikagami-sempai, okay? He's coming back to the team, you know," Yanagi said.

"H-hime-san??? But, how did he…I mean, nobody even told me that yet! No one's even considered consulting me!" he pathetically protested.

I sighed again. "Look, Hanabishi, let's just get this over with, okay? Why don't you just shut---" I glanced at Fuuko, who was looking at me demandingly.

Whoa, she sure was right about that having-me-under-her-control thingy.

"I-I mean, I promise that I won't get in your way anymore, okay? As long as _you do the same thing," I told Recca hesitantly._

"Hey, hold on a minute, did _you just __promise me that you wouldn't get in my way? __You, Mikagami Tokiya, the stubborn jerk that used to enjoy making me miserable???" he asked, still dumbfounded._

I clenched my fist and glared at him, my patience running out. "_Yes! Yes, I just __did, damn it! Don't you know a treaty when you __see one?!?"_

Fuuko cleared her throat. "Mi-chan…" she said warningly.

"Well…okay, Tokiya, you got yourself a deal," he said. "Only if you promise to obey my orders as the team leader, too," he smirked challengingly.

I clenched my fist tighter and cringed. _Crap, this is all just for Fuuko._

I nodded slowly. At this, he smiled triumphantly and extended his hand out to me. I kept my eyes shut close, not believing that I was actually shaking it.

"And you _better keep it," he glared at me out of the corner of his eye._

"Alright, Mi-chan!!!" Fuuko wrapped her arms around my neck while Yanagi took Recca's arm.

"Um…Fuuko-chan…not…not now, okay?" I told her.

Then, Hanabishi's confused expression shifted into a devious smile. "Oh, _I know what's going on here," he grinned. "Could it be that…?" he raised his two index fingers and squeezed them together, making faint kissing noises. " Mikagami Tokiya and Kirisawa Fuuko? Ne, hime?" he grinned at Yanagi. She smiled, too._

I didn't say anything. Fuuko's mouth was open, but words failed to come out.

Recca's smile widened. "_Woohoo!!! I __knew it!!! Wait 'till Domon hears this!!!"_

Fuuko's eyes widened. "W-wait, Hanabishi… matte yo…" she reached out, but Recca had already turned around, taking Yanagi with him, heading for Domon's house.

I just stood there and watched them leave. It wasn't that I didn't care about Domon's feelings getting hurt, but what could _I do, anyway? I was satisfied with what Fuuko and I turned out to be._

She sighed. "Oh, great. I hope Domon doesn't kill you for this," she smiled faintly at me.

I cocked an eyebrow. "Domon? Kill me?" I smirked. "Hn, you must be kidding. That idiotic gorilla would be frozen to death by the time he reaches the air around me."

She chuckled. "True, demo, we really shouldn't be underestimating him, you know. He could get pretty strong when he's serious. Like that time when he fought with Magensha."

I just shrugged.

We both kept quiet for a while. I kept my gaze on her as a gentle breeze swept by. She was looking at me with an awkward expression on her face.

"So…" I began.

She smiled at me and stepped closer. "What do you want to do? 

All _I had wanted to do was stand there and gaze at her forever. I opened my mouth to speak, but she spoke first._

"Koganei told me this morning that he was going to be spending his whole day cleaning up and doing chores at his new apartment room," she blinked at me. "Don't you think it'd be nice if we helped out?"

_Help out? But that's Koganei's problem, not ours! I didn't like the idea, but somehow, she had me convinced. __Her eyes again… I sighed._

"…wakatta…" I trailed off. Fuuko's eyebrows shot up.

"Let me guess…you left your madougu in your apartment…and you want us to pass by and get it…?" she grinned.

"…how the heck did you know that…" I mumbled, staring at her in astonishment.

She shrugged. "Um…lucky guess…?"

"Give me a break."

She looked at me questioningly. "First of all, I'm surprised you used that unserious phrase for once in your life," she smiled. " Second, I never thought you'd go anywhere without your Ensui. Third, is that, what are you planning to do with it, anyway? You're not going to get into a fight again, are you, Mi-chan?" she asked worriedly. 

"Daijoubu, Fuuko, I'm not getting into any fight. I just didn't feel too good about just leaving it there unguarded," I said. I knew the Weiß Kreuz wasn't after it anymore but, you could never know. Someone else might want to. And I really didn't want to lose it just like I had lost Yanagi and…Botan, too.

She smiled and snuggled closer. "Well, okay, it would rain soon, and I wouldn't want to be left behind, would I?"

***

"Wow, this is a pretty nice place, considering it belongs to one of Hokage team's killers. Plus you're a guy, too. I bet neither Domon nor Hanabishi can manage to make a place as neat as this," she mused, looking around. "Except maybe for Kaoru, since we'll be helping him clean up soon."

I closed the door behind her. "Glad you like it."

She beamed at me. "You bet I do!" Her smile faded as her eyes fell on something on the desk.

"Mi-chan, what…?" she pointed to it.

I walked over to the desk. A single red rose was piercing through the wood; the stem was too sharp that cracks were spreading across the desk. The window was wide open, the curtain flowing with the morning breeze.

_Hn, Kurama no baka._

I pulled the rose off, my eyes narrowing. _If that's what you want, then, I shall accept it. A truce. For now. But it's not over yet, Kurama, keep that in mind. And keep it well._

"What was that for, Mi-chan?" she asked, concern in her tone.

I turned to her and smiled. She was always too caring. Plus she could get me into anything.

It was pretty surprising to have made peace with two people all at the same day. It wasn't the usual me. Had I changed _that much? Was she __that persuasive? _

Many thought she lacked a feminine touch, and that she fought to the death just like a guy, but deep down it wasn't a tiny bit true. She was always concerned, and she had a way of making people feel better despite themselves. It was disappointing to think that such a lady didn't have anyone to protect her own self, while she continued protecting others. But right now there was no need to think of such things. Because I was going to protect her with my whole life, come what may. It was my only purpose, my _real purpose, in life, I finally realized. To protect her._

It had finally come to me that the reason why my sister's death had troubled me too much was that I had wanted to protect her but failed to. And for all of these years, I had thought of revenge as my only objective, only to find out in the end that I was wrong. Revenge was not what I had wanted.

It was not until last night that I had figured out what my real goal was.

All along it was the need to protect someone. I had been longing to use my Ensui to penalize those who dare touch that someone. I had been longing to have someone to defend again. Someone to serve. Someone to live for. Someone to love. And someone to love me back.

Everything was in her. She was all I wanted, all I needed. And she was standing right in front of me. Kirisawa Fuuko.

I looked out the window at the sky and smiled. _Oneesan…I promise…I won't fail again…this time…I'll make sure I keep my word…_

"Ne, Mi-chan…? You haven't answered me ye—" 

"Fuuko…eien ni aishiteru." I smiled and sealed her lips with a kiss.

I closed my eyes, wishing that I could stay kissing her like this forever. But there was no hurry. I didn't need to make haste.

Because I knew that she would always be mine.

And I would be hers eternally.


	13. Epilogue

EPILOGUE

Botan 

_There he is, walking towards Yusuke and Keiko's ramen shop, I mused, observing the kawaii way he walked. __Should I follow him?_

Kurama straightened his shirt a bit, before he pushed the restaurant's door open. I could hear Kuwa-chan greeting him inside from where I was.

I hopped down from my oar and switched to my visible form, straightening my clothes and fixing my hair. It wasn't tied back in my usual ponytail, since Kurama had told me a year ago that he liked my hair better this way.

"Botan-chan!" Keiko greeted from behind the counter, as soon as I got inside. I flashed her my biggest smile, and paused to look around the restaurant. Nothing much had changed since I last saw it, but I missed it a lot.

"Botan!" Kuwabara waved at me, signaling for me to join him in his booth. I smiled. I had missed even Kuwa-kun. I ran over to the booth where he was seated, and noticed that Yukina was sitting beside him. 

"Yukina-san!" I beamed at her. I hadn't seen her for quite a while now.

She just smiled in her usual sweet way of doing so.

"Where's your oneesan?" I asked her, attempting to be friendly. I knew the answer. Hiei-san was probably out in the Makai, spending time with Mukuro. I smiled to myself at the thought. I always thought Hiei had something for Mukuro-san; he just wouldn't admit it. Then again, he wouldn't admit anything. Except maybe when he admitted his relationship with Yukina. At first Kuwa-kun was really pissed, but I guess he'd pretty much gotten over it all.

"I think he said he'd be visiting me some time this month from Makai," Yukina replied. Yes, her smile was welcoming, but my day wasn't complete. I knew I had seen him enter…demo…where was my Kurama-kun?

"It's been a while," Yusuke said from behind me, holding a tray of beverages.

I grinned at him. "Yes, well, that was one of the reasons I told Koenma-sama, that's why he agreed to give me three months off!"

"Honto ni? Finally, the Prince of Pacifiers earned a heart," Yusuke said.

I was a tad bit annoyed. "Hey, it's true that Koenma-sa---"

"Isn't this conversation getting too familiar?" a low voice said from behind me. My eyes widened.

I turned around, and saw Kurama leaning against a chair, his eyebrow tilted, his lips curved into a smile at me.

"Kurama-chan!" I rushed to give him a hug. I didn't need to explain how much I had missed him, because, considering how much I did when we were still "just friends", it increased even more to a higher level now that we were an item.

"Botan…Botan-san…?" Yukina said, her brows furrowing. I looked around. So were the others'.

Oh yes, I forgot. Only Koenma-sama knew about my feelings for one of his Reikai Tantei. And that Tantei's feelings towards one of his ferry girls.  

***

_"Botaaaaan!!!" Koenma-sama's voice boomed across the halls. I cringed. I was in big trouble again. _

_I reluctantly stepped into his office. "Y-yes, Koenma-sama?"_

_He was narrowing his already narrow eyes at me, and his pacifier was curved down his lips. His hat was a mess, and the papers on his table were a mess, too. Translation: he was not in a good mood. He looked awful; too much stress, I guess. I couldn't understand why he needed to be in this small-boy form whenever he was in Reikai. Why couldn't he just be in his taller, neater, and cuter form all the time? After all, his hair was down and he didn't need to wear his hat in that form. His brown eyes shone in that form, too. Not to mention he looked more handsome that way._

_"Botan, what in the Reikai, Makai, and Ningenkai were you thinking?!? Every single thing I asked you to do is done wrong!!! They're all messed up!!! And that was only all the other days ever since you came back from your three months' vacation! Because there's more! This time you're even worse!!! You've messed up all the souls you were supposed to guide!!! Just what is wrong with you??? The old Botan, my best Deity of Death and Spirit Guide, definitely doesn't act like this!!!" he sighed in exasperation._

_He paused and seemed to calm down. "Botan, please tell me what's wrong. Ever since I gave you that vacation, you haven't been yourself," he said._

_I looked down the floor and hesitated. The truth was, because I was so torn up about having to depart with Kurama. It had been the last night of my vacation, and we were in the park. Sad to say, I had to leave for Reikai and get back to my job. Hesitantly, I had given him a last kiss and had climbed on my oar, not looking back. I had known that if I had, then I would only come back to his arms._

_That was what was always on my mind. The reason I wasn't performing my duties too well._

_I looked back at Koenma-sama. He was looking at me expectantly. "Well?"_

_I figured it was best to tell him the truth before he really freaks out because of my awful performance in Reikai. Not to mention I might lose my job._

_"Koenma-sama, I…how do you get over someone you like a lot, because you know you have to leave him and that he…works as a really busy…Reikai…Reikai Tantei…and you're just a ferry girl from another world?" I said sheepishly. "Also because…you start neglecting your duties because you have him in your mind all the time?"_

_Surprisingly, his small eyes widened. "Are you saying that you…you have feelings for one of my Reikai Tantei???"_

_"Well…it's kinda like that," I replied._

_He raised his brow. "Is it Yusuke?"_

_"He's married to Keiko already, Koenma-sama."_

_"Kuwabara?"_

_"No!!! Besides, he's got Yukina-san."_

_"Hiei?"_

_I shook my head. Hiei looked pretty good, but… he freaks me out most of the time. He doesn't even like to talk much. And he practically lives with Mukuro already. "Iie."_

_He narrowed his eyes at me. "Kitsune?"_

_I didn't say anything. He settled back into his chair. "The thousand-year old kitsune. Youko Kurama, the vicious Makai thief."_

_"He's not like that, Koenma-sama; he's not like that at all!" I protested." He has a kind heart and he---"_

_"The person you're referring to is Shuuichi Minamino. He is not the real Kurama. And now that the kitsune inside him has awakened at the Ankoku Bujutsukai, you never know when he'll turn into Youko Kurama again. And trust me, he is not__ who you think he is whenever he's a Youko," he said._

_"But Koenma-sama, he already gave up on being Youko Kurama at the Makai Bujutsukai! He chose to stay as Shuuichi in his fight with Shigure and I really---"_

_He chuckled. "Don't worry, Botan. I'm not saying that you should eliminate your feelings towards him. I'm just telling you that you should be aware of these tendencies. Because I know that I can't change the way your heart feels."_

_I kept silent._

_"Does Kurama know about all of this?" he asked._

_"Well…" I grinned, recalling the night of my first kiss. "He did respond to my first passionate kiss, and then he had asked me to be his girl that night…it was so flattering when he kissed me back…I could feel my face burning and my insides were---"_

_"Okay! Okay! I get the picture. Don't get all mushy on me." He paused to think. Then he began to smile. "It's good to see you finally paired up with someone. You were the only girl in the group who hasn't fallen in love yet."_

_Did he have to bring that up? I cringed. It was true, though. I did kind of envy the other girls; they've all known how it was to love. But I was just a Deity of Death, and I had thought that I didn't need to love. Not until my feelings for Kurama gradually began to increase, each time I was with him in the Urameshi team's missions._

_"You were lucky that the Weiß Kreuz returned the Ruffian's Sphere before Enma-sama even found out that it was gone," he warned. "Or else…"_

_I gulped._

_Koenma-sama continued. "I understand your situation, so… I believe I have no other choice but to help you out. Alright, I'll give you three months of vacation in the Ningenkai every year so that you can go see him," he shrugged. "A favor for my best deity."_

_My smile widened. "H-honto???"_

_"However," he lifted his finger. "You must promise me that you will accomplish your works efficiently and flawlessly. And no more hostage-and-Reikai-treasure-for-ransom thing. Am I making myself clear?"_

_I jumped at him and gave him a hug. "Oh, thankyouthankyouthankyou!!!"_

_He tumbled down to the ground. "Aaargh! Get off me, Botan!!! You're messing up the files!!!"_

_***_

I smiled at the thought.

Kurama led me to a seat and I sat down beside him. "I'm surprised Koenma-sama gave you another three months."

I giggled. "I'll always be seeing you for three months every year now. He knows."

Yusuke and Kuwabara were gaping at us, clueless.

I didn't mind this time. I didn't mind sitting beside Kurama-kun, either. It just felt natural, I guess.

"That's great," he said. I looked at his green orbs, losing myself. I missed him so much…

"I've missed you, Botan-chan," he whispered. "I've been thinking about you too much after you left," he continued, burrowing his eyes into mine.

He placed his hand on my cheek, and I looked back at him, everything else around me fading away. "I missed you, too," I whispered back.

"Urameshi! Urameshi! Check them out!!!" Kuwa-kun exclaimed. Yusuke was grinning. "This is getting good."

It was then that Kurama gave me a kiss in front of them all. Yusuke let out a low whistle and Kuwabara was clapping.

Who cared, anyway? I got what I wanted after all these years ever since I met him. I didn't need anything else.

And who cared about whether people thought he was the kindhearted Shuuichi or the brutal slayer, Youko?

All I knew was that, he was my Kurama.

**_~owari~_**

June 18 (Sunday)

9:52 pm pure pinoy

FuJinGrL 2000!

_Yatta! Got a fic done! My first fic! Rekka Shinen! Oops, wrong show! :D _

_Sorry if it's really, really pathetic…as you have probably noticed, it's the first time I ever wrote a fic, and as you can see, it STINKS compared to all the other cool authors out there. I'm sorry to have wasted your time! But I'm currently writing sequels to this, and hopefully, my writing skills will have improved by the time I finish them. I guess you'll just have to see for yourself then and check out my other fics! Hhehehee…_

_~~~~~Oh yeah...in case you're all wondering what on earth the title of the fic meant, well..."WINDS" kind of points to "Fuuko" , "DARK WATER" to "Tokiya", and "CRIMSON ROSE" to "Kurama". Oh! And I just want to let you know that "DEATH of a crimson rose" doesn't mean Kurama's death at all...because "DEATH" here points to everyone's favorite Deity of Death, Botan-chan!!! So...can you pretty much guess the crazy meaning of the crazy title?................................................."WINDS OF A DARK WATER"-----"Tokiya's Fuuko"  ....................................................."DEATH OF A CRIMSON ROSE"----"Kurama's Botan"_

_Oki? So that's the meaning! (Pretty lame when you get right down to it, huh...)_


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